title: Extended-use oral contraceptives and medically induced amenorrhea: attitudes, knowledge and prescribing habits of physicians.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The study was conducted to determine whether geographic location, primary specialty, attitudes and knowledge influence the prescribing habits of physicians regarding extended-use oral contraceptives (OC) and medically induced amenorrhea.
  
  
  METHODS
  Practice characteristics, contraceptive prescription habits, menstrual cycle physiology knowledge and attitudes about medically induced amenorrhea of Oregon obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN) and family medicine physicians were assessed using either a cross-sectional postal or electronic mail survey. Attitudes were assessed using a series of Likert-style questions; multiple-choice responses were used to evaluate knowledge and prescribing habits.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 713 physicians in the sample (email 575, paper 138), 233 returned the survey, for an overall response rate of 32.7%. Over 90% (211/233) of respondents prescribed OCs; of these, 73.9% (155/211) stated that they prescribed extended-use OCs either often (23.5%) or sometimes (50.5%). Without adjusting for other factors, physicians reporting an OBGYN specialty (odds ratio [OR] 8.02, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.40-18.91) or an urban practice location (OR 2.75, 95% CI: 1.42-5.30) were more likely to report prescribing extended-use OCs. However, after adjusting for other factors, attitude was the only factor which remained significantly associated with prescribing (OR 1.85, 95% CI 1.41-2.42).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Physicians' attitudes regarding medically induced amenorrhea influence the use of extended-cycle OC more than any other characteristic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94304, USA.
authors.forename: Carrie E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Frederick
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Edelman
authors.forename: Nichole E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Carlson
authors.forename: Kenneth D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.forename: Jeffrey T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Jensen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000568:Amenorrhea / Q000139:chemically induced*; D003277:Contraceptives, Oral, Combined / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006176:Gynecology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008597:Menstrual Cycle; D008875:Middle Aged; D009774:Obstetrics; D009922:Oregon; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D003277:Contraceptives, Oral, Combined