Single-Dose Levonorgestrel Emergency Contraception and Silent Barriers to Its Access: Is It Really Just One Step?
J Womens Health (Larchmt)
; 27(5): 646-650, 2018 05.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29185840
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Single-dose levonorgestrel has been legally available over the counter in the United States without age restriction since 2013. The objective of this study was to discover if there are barriers to access and to determine if such barriers vary based on the gender of the person making the purchase. MATERIALS ANDMETHODS:
A male and female caller contacted 146 Richmond, Virginia pharmacies listed on the Plan B One Step® website. Ultimately, these callers interviewed 90 pharmacies via phone and used a rehearsed standardized script to ask eight questions regarding emergency contraception (EC) in relation to availability, age restrictions, parental consent, counseling requirements, and a male's ability to purchase the product. The statistical data were analyzed using Fisher's exact test.RESULTS:
Pharmacy employees provided incorrect information to both men and women regarding age restrictions for purchasing Plan B One Step 51% of the time. However, only seven of the pharmacy employees counseled that males were unable to purchase the medication. Both callers received correct information regarding parental consent and in-store counseling at the time of purchase. Pharmacy technicians provided the majority of information, and the male caller was more likely to be transferred to another person when requesting the medication (9 vs. 0 transfers for the male and female callers, respectively).CONCLUSION:
Given the inconsistent data provided to the public regarding the purchase of EC, clinicians are obligated to convey accurate up-to-date information to patients about emergency contraceptive products as part of their counseling and should not assume that consumers receive accurate information when inquiring about over-the-counter EC.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Contexto en salud:
2_ODS3
Problema de salud:
2_cobertura_universal
/
2_salud_sexual_reprodutiva
Asunto principal:
Farmacias
/
Levonorgestrel
/
Anticonceptivos Sintéticos Orales
/
Anticonceptivos Poscoito
/
Anticoncepción Postcoital
/
Medicamentos sin Prescripción
/
Accesibilidad a los Servicios de Salud
Aspecto:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
Límite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Región como asunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Womens Health (Larchmt)
Asunto de la revista:
GINECOLOGIA
/
SAUDE DA MULHER
Año:
2018
Tipo del documento:
Article