The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #61203

Marji Gold, MD and Tanya Panton, MD. Social Medicine Residency in Urban Family Medicine, Montefiore Family Health Center, 3544 Jerome Avenue, Bronx, NY 10467, 718-920-2885, mgold@aecom.yu.edu

Adolescent pregnancy is considered a significant public health problem in the US. About 50% of all adolescent pregnancies are unintended, and about half of these pregnancies end in an abortion. 75% to 90% of unintended pregnancies could be prevented with Emergency Contraception (EC), and yet most adolescents are not using it. While the 2002 statistics from the Alan Guttmacher Institute found the rate of abortion is decreasing, this was not the case among poor and minority teens, who have rising abortion rates.

We interviewed adolescent males and females in an inner city community health center to explore their knowledge about and attitudes towards using emergency contraception. We found that very few of them had ever used EC, but have their comments on what they would do if it were accessible. We will present the results of these interviews, and discuss the clinical and policy implications of this information.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, participants will:
• List the advantages to adolescents of increased access to Emergency Contraception
• Describe some barriers that adolescents face in obtaining EC
• Construct some interventions that can increase adolescents’ access to, and use of, EC

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.