An intervention to improve advance emergency contraceptive prescribing practices among academic primary care physicians.
BACKGROUND
Primary care physicians care for reproductive-aged women, yet do not routinely counsel women about or prescribe contraceptives, including emergency contraception (EC).


METHODS
We used a pre-/post-study to design to assess whether the proportion of primary care physicians who counseled women about and prescribed EC increased 6 months after a peer-led intervention with educational and reminder components. Participants included 36 residents and attending physicians at an academically affiliated internal medicine practice from July 2004 to June 2005 (when prescription was required for EC in New York). Data were collected by self-administered questionnaire.


RESULTS
At baseline, 37% of participants had counseled women about EC and 34% had prescribed EC in the prior month. After the intervention, 80% of participants had counseled women about EC (p<.001) and 66% had prescribed EC (p=.03) in the prior month.


CONCLUSIONS
Six months after a peer-led intervention including educational and reminder components, the proportion of primary care physicians who had counseled women about and prescribed EC in the past month increased significantly.
Sobota
Mindy
M
Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10467, USA. Mindy.Sobota@gmail.com
Warkol
Rebecca
R
Gold
Marji
M
Milan
Felise
F
Schwarz
Eleanor B
EB
Arnsten
Julia H
JH
Kunins
Hillary V
HV
D003281:Contraceptives, Postcoital / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D016912:Levonorgestrel / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011320:Primary Health Care; D013333:Student Health Services
D003281:Contraceptives, Postcoital; D016912:Levonorgestrel