Contraceptive choice: how do oral contraceptive users differ from condom users and women who use no contraception?
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to determine whether contraceptive choice is influenced by social and reproductive characteristics in a cohort of high-risk women.


METHODS
This is a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a randomized clinical trial of 542 women who were recruited from an urban population in New England. Of these participants, 422 women met inclusion criteria and had contraceptive information available for analysis. We evaluated sociodemographic and sexual history characteristics that were associated with oral contraceptive (OC) use, male condom use, or the use of no contraceptive method.


RESULTS
Women who reported OC use were more likely to have at least a high school education, to be white, and to have private insurance than were women who used no form of contraception. Women who used OCs were more likely to have private insurance than women who used male condoms. Finally, although having a new sexual partner in the past 6 months and having multiple sexual partners in the preceding month were associated with contraceptive choice, other reproductive characteristics were not.


CONCLUSIONS
Among this cohort of women at high-risk for sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancy, sociodemographic characteristics that included education level, race, insurance status, and sexual history influenced contraceptive choice.
Krings
Katherine M
KM
Division of Clinical Research, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Matteson
Kristen A
KA
Allsworth
Jenifer E
JE
Mathias
Erin
E
Peipert
Jeffrey F
JF
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002755:Choice Behavior; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003267:Contraception / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D011247:Pregnancy; D011275:Pregnancy, Unwanted / Q000523:psychology; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors