title: "In rape cases we can use this pill": a multimethods assessment of emergency contraception knowledge, access, and needs on the Thailand-Burma border.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate availability, service delivery, and barriers to access to emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) along the Thailand-Burma border.
  
  
  METHODS
  From June 2010 to May 2011 we undertook a multimethods qualitative assessment among cross-border populations, migrants, and refugees. We conducted 46 key informant interviews with representatives from 25 organizations, 18 focus group discussions with migrant adults, migrant adolescents, and healthcare workers, and a service mapping exercise with 22 stakeholders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found low use of ECPs among the target populations. Structural barriers and lack of evidence-based reproductive health protocols, education, and information restrict access to the limited family planning resources available in this region. Misinformation about ECPs was widespread among health workers and organizational policies were often non-evidence based.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Potential policy and program interventions to improve access to ECPs along the Thailand-Burma border include integrating evidence-based practices into community efforts, expanding training opportunities for health workers, and improving communication and coordination among organizations serving populations on both sides of the border.
authors.affiliation: Bixby Center for Population, Health and Sustainability, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, USA. Electronic address: mhobstetter@berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hobstetter
authors.affiliation: Ibis Reproductive Health, Cambridge, USA; Cambridge Reproductive Health Consultants, Cambridge, USA.
authors.forename: Cari
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sietstra
authors.affiliation: Cambridge Reproductive Health Consultants, Cambridge, USA.
authors.forename: Meredith
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.affiliation: Independent Consultant, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leigh
authors.affiliation: Ibis Reproductive Health, Cambridge, USA; Cambridge Reproductive Health Consultants, Cambridge, USA; Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
authors.forename: Angel M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Foster
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D044363:Contraception, Postcoital / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D003276:Contraceptives, Oral / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D002052:Myanmar / Q000208:ethnology; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011902:Rape / Q000523:psychology; D013785:Thailand / Q000208:ethnology; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003276:Contraceptives, Oral
keywords: Burma; Emergency contraception; Emergency contraceptive pills; Refugees; Thailand