Unintended pregnancies, defined as either being unwanted or mistimed, represent a major public health challenge. Roughly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended, and have been associated with poor health and economic outcomes for infants, children, women, and families. Modern contraceptives have been proven to be both safe and effective in reducing unintended pregnancy. This is particularly true for long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods, which are associated with both higher user satisfaction and overall efficacy as compared to short-acting methods. We therefore investigated types of contraceptive services offered among rural and non-rural clinics in South Carolina. A survey was developed; all clinics in South Carolina who offer contraceptive services were invited to participate. Completion of the survey was voluntary and an incentive was provided. The survey was multi-faceted, covering several aspects of contraceptive care including scope of services provided, availability of resources, and training received. Of primary interest to this research, is the extent to which highly effective contraception methods, such as LARCs, are available in both urban and rural clinics. Findings suggest that access to highly effective LARCs is not equitable among rural and urban clinics. Approximately 62% of urban clinics offered LARC methods, compared to 36% among rural clinics (p=0.0015). These data indicate that women who reside in a rural locale have significantly lower access to these more effective contraceptive methods. As nearly 25% of women within the United States reside in a rural locale, the need to address barriers to access to contraceptive care is essential. This work will be a useful tool in understanding barriers to contraceptive care utilization and can lead to the development of novel programs to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancy, births and abortions, and corresponding savings in health care costs.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:asrf-1157 |
| Date | 05 April 2018 |
| Creators | Weber, Amy Judith, Kuku, Olubunmi, Leinaar, Edward |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Appalachian Student Research Forum |
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