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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

David J. Landry, MS, Junhow Wei, and Jennifer J. Frost, DrPH. Guttmacher Institute, 120 Wall St. 21st Floor, New York, NY 10005, 212-248-1111, dlandry@guttmacher.org

Objectives. We measured differences in the provision of care between public and private providers of contraceptive services, what problems using contraception these providers perceive their patients to have and providers' views on how to improve their patients' method use.

Methods. The Guttmacher Institute conducted a nationally representative mixed-mode survey (mail, Internet and fax) of private family practice and obstetrician/gynecologist physicians who provided contraceptive care in 2005 (n=382). The Institute also conducted a parallel survey of public contraceptive care providers in community health centers, hospitals, Planned Parenthood clinics and other sites during the same period (n=805). Descriptive and multivariate analyses were conducted across both surveys.

Results. There are marked differences between private and public providers of contraceptive services in staffing, range of methods provided, patient demographic characteristics, and contraceptive counseling. Some of these differences are associated with providers' perceptions of the problems their patients experience with contraception and the approaches providers think are important for improving their patients' contraceptive use.

Conclusions. Strategies to improve contraceptive use for all persons in need in the United States have the potential to be more effective if the challenges contraceptive providers face and the differences between public and private providers are taken into account.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify differences between public and private contraceptive providers in the provision of services, and how service provision is associated with providers views on patients problems in using contraception and providers views on what steps need to be taken to improve contraceptive use.

Keywords: Family Planning, Access and Services

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No