title: Health economics of contraception.
abstract: Unintended pregnancies constitute a global problem associated with substantial costs to health and social services, and emotional distress to women, their families and society as a whole. Provision of contraception has been demonstrated to be a particularly cost-effective healthcare intervention as, besides preventing a significant number of unintended pregnancies, it also results in great cost-savings to society. Male and female sterilization and long-acting reversible methods (such as the copper-T intra-uterine device and the subdermal implant) constitute the most cost-effective contraceptive options, followed by other hormonal methods (such as oral contraceptives); barrier and behavioural methods (such as the male condom and withdrawal, respectively) are least cost-effective compared with other contraceptive options. Nevertheless, when compared with no method, they still prevent a large number of unintended pregnancies, thus leading to important cost-savings. Improvements in compliance and continuation rates are expected to further enhance the contraceptive benefits and cost-savings associated with contraceptive use.
authors.affiliation: National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, Centre for Outcomes, Research and Effectiveness, Research Department of Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, UK. i.mavranezouli@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Ifigeneia
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mavranezouli
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003267:Contraception / Q000191:economics*; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005193:Family Planning Services / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D049168:Pregnancy, Unplanned / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult