Bridging emergency contraceptive pill users to regular contraception: results from a randomized trial in Jamaica.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Emergency contraception research has shifted from examining the public health effects of increasing access to emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) to bridging ECP users to a regular contraceptive method as a way of decreasing unintended pregnancies. STUDY DESIGN: In a randomized controlled trial in Jamaica, we tested a discount coupon for oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) among pharmacy-based ECP purchasers as an incentive to adopt (i.e., use for at least 2 months) this and other regular contraceptive methods. Women in the intervention and control arms were followed up at 3 and 6 months after ECP purchase to determine whether they adopted the OCP or any other contraceptive method. Condom use was recorded but was not considered a regular contraceptive due to its inconsistent use. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the proportion of women who adopted the OCP, injectable or intrauterine device in the control group or the intervention group (p=.39), and only 14.6% of the sample (mostly OCP adopters) used one of these three methods. Condom use was high (44.0%), demonstrating that ECP users were largely a condom-using group. CONCLUSIONS: The discount coupon intervention was not successful. Although a small proportion of ECP users did bridge, the coupon did not affect the decision to adopt a regular contraceptive method. The study highlighted the need for bridging strategies to consider women's reproductive and sexual behaviors, as well as their context. However, in countries like Jamaica where HIV/AIDS is of concern and condom use is appropriately high, bridging may not be an optimal strategy.