Journal
JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH
Volume 45, Issue 3, Pages 262-267Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.02.007
Keywords
Adolescents; Contraception; Vaginal ring; Transdermal patch; Unintended pregnancy; Qualitative; Focus groups
Funding
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Grant [R01 HD045480]
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Purpose: The vaginal ring and the transdermal patch offer important contraceptive options for women at high risk for unintended pregnancy. Little is known about what adolescents and young women think about these methods and why use of the ring has been relatively low compared with the patch. We sought to examine young women's attitudes and perceptions about the ring and the patch to better understand the relationship between perceptions of these methods and decisions to use them. Methods: Sixteen focus groups of young women aged 15-26 years (n = 113) from family planning clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area were convened. Data from the focus groups were analyzed using standard content analysis. Results: Although young women expressed apprehension and doubt about both methods, for the most part women expressed more positive attitudes about the patch. Two related themes for the ring and the patch were identified: lack of trust in effectiveness, and method use concerns. Two themes unique to the ring (concerns regarding vaginal insertion and sexual partner perceptions) and three themes unique to the patch (ease of remembering, visibility issues, and perceived health risk) were identified. Conclusions: Increased provider education about apprehensions related to the ring and the patch may lead to increased use of the ring and may counter recent declines in use of the patch. It would be unfortunate if these safe and effective options for young women were to be underused because negative attitudes and perceptions about these methods acted as barriers to adoption. (c) 2009 Society for Adolescent Medicine. All rights reserved.
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