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Abstract #159902

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Ingrid Dries-Daffner, MPH¹, Sharon Cohen Landau, MPH¹, Belle Taylor-McGhee¹, Anna Garcia², and Nicole Monastersky Maderas, MPH¹. (1) Pharmacy Access Partnership, 614 Grand Avenue, Suite 324, Oakland, CA 94610, 510-272-0150, nmaderas@phi.org, (2) Research Division, California Family Health Council, Inc., 3600 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 600, Los Angeles, CA 90010

As the first state to pass legislation to allow pharmacists to provide EC without an advance prescription, California has been a leader in the national EC advocacy movement. The California Emergency Contraception (EC) Network is a coalition of over 50 organizations statewide, including universities, government agencies, advocacy organizations, public health professionals and service providers, dedicated to increasing EC awareness and access. Since the inception of the CA EC Network in May 2006, the coalition has developed a strategic plan to better meet California women's EC needs and a structure within which to do so. Pharmacy Access Partnership and the California Family Health Council are founding members of the CA EC Network; Pharmacy Access Partnership currently serves as the Network coordinator.

Following the August 2006 FDA decision to make Plan B EC available over the counter (OTC) to consumers 18 and older, the landscape for EC provision and access changed over a short period of time. The CA EC Network shifted its focus accordingly to adapt to the new EC OTC environment, and remains committed to meeting the EC needs of all Californian women, regardless of age or economic status. Through various local, state and national collaborative partnerships, member organizations work to reduce barriers to EC access for teens and low-income women through policy and programmatic initiatives. In addition, the CA EC Network has leveraged mass media outlets to promote broader EC awareness statewide. Ongoing initiatives and lessons learned will be shared to enable other states to replicate this model.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.Understand the implications of the FDA decision on Plan B on California EC advocacy efforts
• 2.Identify strengths and challenges associated with forming and working within a state coalition, including lessons learned from California and other state models
• 3.Identify various EC advocacy efforts designed to reach diverse populations and meet distinct objectives

Keywords: Contraception, Community Collaboration

Related Web page: www.pharmacyaccess.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

• Slides (pdf) or Handout