Dataset Information

Opportunities lost: Barriers to increasing the use of effective contraception in the Philippines.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:In the Philippines, one in four pregnancies are unintended and 610 000 unsafe abortions are performed each year. This study explored the association between missed opportunities to provide family planning counseling, quality of counseling and its impact on utilization of effective contraception in the Philippines. METHODS:One-hundred-one nationally representative health facilities were randomly selected from five levels of the health system. Sexually-active women 18-49 years old, wanting to delay or limit childbearing, attending primary care clinics between April 24 and August 8, 2017 were included. Data on contraceptive use, counseling and availability were collected using interviews and facility assessments. Effective contraceptive methods were defined as those with rates of unintended pregnancy of less than 10 per 100 women in first year of typical use. FINDINGS:849 women were recruited of whom 51.1% currently used effective contraceptive methods, 20.6% were former effective method users and 28.3% had never used an effective method. Of 1664 cumulative clinic visits reported by women in the previous year, 72.6% had a missed opportunity to receive family planning counseling at any visit regardless of level of facility, with 83.7% having a missed counseling opportunity on the day of the interview. Most women (55.9%) reported health concerns about modern contraception, with 2.9% receiving counseling addressing their concerns. Only 0.6% of former users and 2.1% never-users said they would consider starting a modern contraceptive in the future. Short and long acting reversible contraceptive methods were available in 93% and 68% of facilities respectively. CONCLUSIONS:Missed opportunities to provide family planning counseling are widespread in the Philippines. Delivery of effective contraceptive methods requires that wider legal, policy, social, cultural, and structural barriers are addressed, coupled with systems approaches for improving availability and quality of counseling at all primary health care contacts.

SUBMITTER: Nagai M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6657820 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Opportunities lost: Barriers to increasing the use of effective contraception in the Philippines.

Nagai Mari M Bellizzi Saverio S Murray John J Kitong Jacqueline J Cabral Esperanza I EI Sobel Howard L HL

PloS one 20190725 7

<h4>Background</h4>In the Philippines, one in four pregnancies are unintended and 610 000 unsafe abortions are performed each year. This study explored the association between missed opportunities to provide family planning counseling, quality of counseling and its impact on utilization of effective contraception in the Philippines.<h4>Methods</h4>One-hundred-one nationally representative health facilities were randomly selected from five levels of the health system. Sexually-active women 18-49 ...[more]

PMID: 31344054

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundAdolescents and young adults (AYAs) in Haiti experience a high unintended pregnancy rate, in part due to unmet contraception needs. Little is known about AYA opinions of and experiences with contraception that may explain remaining gaps in coverage. We aimed to describe barriers and facilitators to contraception use among AYAs in Haiti.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey and semi-structured qualitative interviews with a convenience sample of AYA females aged 14-24 in two rural communities in Haiti. The survey and semi-structured interviews assessed demographics, sexual health and pregnancy prevention behaviors and explored contraception opinions and experiences according to Theory of Planned Behavior constructs: attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. We used descriptive statistics to report means and responses to Likert scale and multiple-choice questions. Guided by content analysis, we analyzed interview transcripts through inductive coding and team debriefing.ResultsAmong 200 survey respondents, 94% reported any past vaginal sexual activity, and 43% reported ever being pregnant. A large majority were trying to avoid pregnancy (75%). At last sexual activity, 127 (64%) reported use of any contraceptive method; Among them, condoms were the most common method (80%). Among those with previous condom use, most reported use less than half the time (55%). AYAs were concerned about parental approval of birth control use (42%) and that their friends might think they are looking for sex (29%). About one-third felt uncomfortable going to a clinic to ask for birth control. In interviews, AYAs desired pregnancy prevention but frequently noted concerns about privacy and parental, community and healthcare provider judgement for seeking care for reproductive health needs. AYAs also noted a lack of contraception knowledge, evident by frequent misconceptions and associated fears.ConclusionAmong AYAs in rural Haiti, a large majority were sexually active and desire pregnancy avoidance, but few were using effective contraception due to numerous concerns, including privacy and fear of judgement. Future efforts should address these identified concerns to prevent unintended pregnancy and improve maternal and reproductive health outcomes in this population.

Project description:ObjectivesTo calculate the prevalence and identify correlates of unmet need for contraception and to assess whether prevalence of use of effective contraception and long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) has changed over time among married or cohabiting, reproductive-age women in Vietnam.MethodsStudy population was drawn from nationally representative Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys conducted in 2000, 2006, 2011 and 2014. Unmet need for contraception was defined as occurring when a fecund, married or cohabiting woman is not using any method of contraception but either does not want children or wants to delay birth for at least 1 year or until marriage. Following the ranking of method effectiveness by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we defined "effective contraception" as implant, intrauterine device, male and female sterilization, injectable, pill, patch, ring or diaphragm. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify correlates of unmet need for contraception in 2014 and Cochran-Armitage trend tests to assess changes in effective contraception and LARC use from 2000 to 2014. All analyses used survey weights to account for the complex sampling design.ResultsIn 2014, 4.3% of married or cohabiting, reproductive-age women had unmet need for contraception. Multivariable analysis showed that age, education and number of children ever born were statistically significant correlates of unmet need for contraception. Use of effective contraception statistically significantly declined from 53.0% in 2000 to 45.7% in 2014 (p<.0001). Similarly, LARC declined from 39.6% in 2000 to 30.0% in 2014 (p<.0001). After adjusting for age, education, residence and having at least one son, these secular trends remained.ConclusionFindings indicate that effective contraception and LARC use have decreased among married or cohabiting women of reproductive age in Vietnam. Correlates of unmet need for contraception should be used to inform interventions to prevent unintended pregnancy.ImplicationsAlthough the prevalence of unmet need for contraception was low (4.3%) in 2014, the use of effective contraception and long-acting reversible contraception declined among reproductive-age, married or cohabiting women in Vietnam from 2000 to 2014. This finding is particularly striking given the economic growth in the nation during this time frame.

Project description:BackgroundUnless women start effective contraception after oral emergency contraception, they remain at risk of unintended pregnancy. Most women in the UK obtain emergency contraception from community pharmacies. We hypothesised that pharmacist provision of the progestogen-only pill as a bridging interim method of contraception with emergency contraception plus an invitation to a sexual and reproductive health clinic, in which all methods of contraception are available, would result in increased subsequent use of effective contraception.MethodsWe did a pragmatic cluster-randomised crossover trial in 29 UK pharmacies among women receiving levonorgestrel emergency contraception. Women aged 16 years or older, not already using hormonal contraception, not on medication that could interfere with the progestogen-only pill, and willing to give contact details for follow-up were invited to participate. In the intervention group, women received a 3-month supply of the progestogen-only pill (75 μg desogestrel) plus a rapid access card to a participating sexual and reproductive health clinic. In the control group, pharmacists advised women to attend their usual contraceptive provider. The order in which each pharmacy provided the intervention or control was randomly assigned using a computer software algorithm. The primary outcome was the use of effective contraception (hormonal or intrauterine) at 4 months. This study is registered, ISRCTN70616901 (complete).FindingsBetween Dec 19, 2017, and June 26, 2019, 636 women were recruited to the intervention group (316 [49·6%], mean age 22·7 years [SD 5·7]) or the control group (320 [50·3%], 22·6 years [5·1]). Three women (one in the intervention group and two in the control group) were excluded after randomisation. 4-month follow-up data were available for 406 (64%) participants, 25 were lost to follow-up, and two participants no longer wanted to participate in the study. The proportion of women using effective contraception was 20·1% greater (95% CI 5·2-35·0) in the intervention group (mean 58·4%, 48·6-68·2), than in the control group (mean 40·5%, 29·7-51·3 [adjusted for recruitment period, treatment group, and centre]; p=0·011).The difference remained significant after adjusting for age, current sexual relationship, and history of effective contraception use, and was robust to the effect of missing data (assuming missingness at random). No serious adverse events occurred.InterpretationProvision of a supply of the progestogen-only pill with emergency contraception from a community pharmacist, along with an invitation to a sexual and reproductive health clinic, results in a clinically meaningful increase in subsequent use of effective contraception. Widely implemented, this practice could prevent unintended pregnancies after use of emergency contraception.FundingNational Institute for Health Research (Health Technology Assessment Programme project 15/113/01).

Project description:BackgroundMany unmarried young people in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) want to avoid pregnancy but do not use modern methods of contraception-as a result, half of teen births in these countries are unintended. Researchers have identified numerous barriers that prevent youth from using contraception. However, much of the research in West Africa is narrowly focused on married women, and relatively little research has been done to understand the needs, preferences, barriers, and solution set for sexually active unmarried young people who would like to avoid pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the behavioral barriers that prevent unmarried young people in eastern Senegal from using modern methods of contraception.MethodsThis qualitative study conducted in 2017 in the Tambacounda and Kedougou regions in Senegal explores attitudes and beliefs relating to sex and contraception among unmarried young women and men through 48 in-depth individual interviews with young people aged 15-24 and parents of youth and 5 sex-segregated focus groups with 6-9 young people per group. The research team conducted a thematic content analysis and synthesized the findings by major theme following the behavioral diagnosis methodology.ResultsDrawing insights from behavioral science, the analysis yields five key findings: (1) unmarried young people avoid making a decision about contraception because thinking about contraceptive use provokes uncomfortable associations with a negative identity (i.e., being sexually active before marriage); (2) unmarried young people see modern methods as inappropriate for people like them; (3) unmarried young people are overconfident in their ability to prevent pregnancy through traditional and folk methods; (4) unmarried young people overestimate the social and health risks of modern contraceptive methods; and (5) unmarried young people fail to plan ahead and are not prepared to use modern contraceptive methods before every sexual encounter.ConclusionsInterventions aimed at increasing uptake of contraceptives among unmarried young people in eastern Senegal must address several significant behavioral barriers in addition to structural, informational, and socio-cultural barriers in order to be successful.

Project description:BackgroundUlipristal acetate 30 mg became available as prescription-only emergency contraception in British Columbia, Canada, in September 2015, as an addition to over-the-counter levonorgestrel emergency contraception. In this study, we determined dispensing and practice use patterns for ulipristal acetate, as well as facilitators of and barriers to emergency contraception for physicians, pharmacists and patients in BC.MethodsIn the quantitative component of this mixed-methods study, we examined ulipristal acetate use from September 2015 to December 2018 using a database that captures all outpatient prescription dispensations in BC (PharmaNet) and another capturing market sales numbers for all oral emergency contraception in BC (IQVIA). We analyzed the quantitative data descriptively. We conducted semistructured interviews from August to November 2019, exploring barriers and facilitators affecting the use of ulipristal acetate. We performed iterative qualitative data collection and thematic analysis guided by Michie's Theoretical Domains Framework.ResultsOver the 3-year study period, 318 patients filled 368 prescriptions for ulipristal acetate. Use of this agent increased between 2015 and 2018. However, levonorgestrel use by sales (range 118 897-129 478 units/yr) was substantially higher than use of ulipristal acetate (range 128-389 units/yr). In the 39 interviews we conducted, from the perspectives of 12 patients, 12 community pharmacists, and 15 prescribers, we identified the following themes and respective theoretical domains as barriers to access: low awareness of ulipristal acetate (knowledge), beliefs and experiences related to shame and stigma (beliefs about consequences), and multiple health system barriers (reinforcement).InterpretationUse of ulipristal acetate in BC was low compared with use of levonorgestrel emergency contraception; lack of knowledge, beliefs about consequences and health system barriers may be important impediments to expanding use of ulipristal acetate. These findings illuminate potential factors to explain low use of this agent and point to the need for additional strategies to support implementation.

Dataset Information

Opportunities lost: Barriers to increasing the use of effective contraception in the Philippines.

Publications

Opportunities lost: Barriers to increasing the use of effective contraception in the Philippines.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets