Feasibility of recruitment for an efficacy trial of emergency contraceptive pills.
BACKGROUND
The efficacy of emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) is currently uncertain. The best way to obtain a robust efficacy estimate would be to conduct a placebo-controlled randomized trial. We aimed to assess the feasibility of identifying women eligible for such a trial.


METHODS
We conducted a survey of women aged 18-35 years in five sexually transmitted disease clinics and urgent care centers in Kenya and the United States in 2006.


RESULTS
Of 177 women surveyed, only 10 (6%) reported no reasons for exclusion from a potential efficacy trial. Of the rest, 149 (83%) had not recently had sex that conferred a substantial risk of pregnancy. At all sites combined, the rate of identification of potentially eligible women was 0.6 per day of interviewing.


CONCLUSIONS
A placebo-controlled efficacy trial of ECPs would likely require several thousand participants. Recruitment for such a trial in these types of sites would be prolonged.
Raymond
Elizabeth G
EG
Family Health International, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA. eraymond@fhi.org
Liku
Jennifer
J
Schwarz
Eleanor Bimla
EB
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044363:Contraception, Postcoital / Q000379:methods*; D003281:Contraceptives, Postcoital / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007630:Kenya; D018579:Patient Selection; D011247:Pregnancy; D049168:Pregnancy, Unplanned; D011275:Pregnancy, Unwanted; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012309:Risk-Taking; D014481:United States
D003281:Contraceptives, Postcoital