202760 Knowledge of IUDs and contraceptive social networking among women in an urban abortion clinic

Monday, November 9, 2009: 3:30 PM

Lyndsey Benson , UCSF Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellow 2008-2009, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, MD/MS anticipated 2010, San Francisco, CA
Jody Steinauer, MD, MAS , Bixby Center for Reproductive Health Research and Policy, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
  
Background: The overall goal of this study is to determine the effect of shared experiences with Intrauterine Devices (IUDs) on a woman's decision to use an IUD for post-abortion contraception. IUDs offer safe and reversible long-term contraception, with an efficacy equivalent to permanent sterilization. For these reasons, IUDs are an ideal form of contraception for prevention of unintended pregnancy and abortion. This study will examine IUD use in a population of women at very high risk for repeat unintended pregnancy: women seeking an elective abortion.

Methods: This is a two part cross-sectional questionnaire study. The first survey is distributed prior to counseling, and the second following the abortion procedure. Women aged 15 and older who can read English or Spanish and are seeking an elective abortion are eligible. Approximately 400 women will be surveyed from February 2009 to July 2009 at an urban abortion clinic.

Results/Conclusions: In the first 2 weeks of this study, 45 women surveyed had an average age of 24.3 years, represented diverse ethnic backgrounds (36% black, 22% Latina, 38% white), and 50% had education past high school. Fifty-nine percent have already had one or more abortion. While 33% of women came into the clinic considering an IUD as a future method of birth control, 73% had heard of IUDs and 56% knew someone with an IUD. Future analyses will explore whether women with some knowledge of another woman's personal IUD experience are more likely to choose an IUD as their own method of post-abortion contraception.

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe factors related to risk for repeat unintended pregnancy. 2.Discuss the role that long-acting reversible contraception like the intrauterine device (IUD) can play in reducing rates of unintended pregnancy. 3. Describe an urban abortion clinic patient population and their exposure to and knowledge of IUDs.

Keywords: Contraception, Post-Abortion

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a medical student at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio; I will be graduating in 2010 with an MD and an MS in Clinical Research. However, I am currently a Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellow at UCSF (July 2008 - June 2009). My research is located at the Women's Options Center family planning clinic at San Francisco General Hospital. This is a high volume abortion clinic serving a young, urban, socioeconomically disadvantaged population at high risk for repeat unintended pregnancy. I have been involved in and coordinated research projects related to abortion and post-abortion contraception use.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

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.

See more of: Abortion: Access in a Political Era
See more of: APHA-Committee on Women's Rights