Adolescents' use of emergency contraception provided by Washington State pharmacists.
OBJECTIVE
To increase knowledge about adolescents who obtained emergency contraceptive pills (ECP) directly from a pharmacist without first contacting a physician.


METHODS
Cross-sectional self-administered survey.


METHODS
Fifteen randomly selected pharmacies providing ECP in western Washington State.


METHODS
Adolescents 15-21 years old (n = 126) who obtained ECP directly from a pharmacist.


METHODS
Responses to a 20-item questionnaire examining adolescents' reasons for seeking care from a pharmacist, need for additional medical evaluation, risk for not receiving additional medical care, and satisfaction with care provided by the pharmacist.


RESULTS
The most common reasons for using the pharmacy were convenience (44%), lack of knowledge about alternatives (38%), and privacy (31%). If the pharmacy service were not available, 58% said they would see a doctor, 22% said they would wait to see if they got pregnant, and 20% did not know. Based on self-report, 81% of adolescents needed a new method of ongoing contraception, an evaluation for sexually transmitted disease, or both. Among these adolescents, 36% had risk factors for not receiving this care. Adolescents were satisfied with the pharmacy service; 94% said they would recommend the service to a friend.


CONCLUSIONS
ECP provision by pharmacists is a useful way to increase access to emergency contraception. However, many adolescents using ECP need additional medical care. Programs designed to increase ECP access should use these opportunities to link adolescents with more comprehensive reproductive health care services.
Sucato
G S
GS
Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. sucatog@chplink.chp.edu
Gardner
J S
JS
Koepsell
T D
TD
D000293:Adolescent; D016497:Adolescent Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D003281:Contraceptives, Postcoital / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010595:Pharmacists; D011247:Pregnancy; D012307:Risk Factors; D014861:Washington
D003281:Contraceptives, Postcoital