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  • Title: Contraceptive use among female adolescents.
    Author: Hewell SW, Andrews JL.
    Journal: Clin Nurs Res; 1996 Aug; 5(3):356-63. PubMed ID: 8850777.
    Abstract:
    Teenage pregnancy continues to be a problem in the United States despite the availability of reliable contraceptive methods. A pilot study was conducted to determine the use of reliable contraception by teenagers following an abortion or negative pregnancy test. The results indicated that 96.6% of the teenagers experiencing a therapeutic abortion and 49.6% of the teens having a negative pregnancy test reported choosing reliable contraception after the procedure or the test. At a subsequent clinic visit, however, only 27.5% in the abortion group and 5.7% in the negative pregnancy test group reported use of reliable contraception. Further research is needed to identify factors involved in teenagers' use or nonuse of contraception. A pilot study involving 64 adolescent females, 14-19 years old, who attended an urban or suburban family planning clinic in the southeastern US indicates that contraceptive acceptance is an ongoing process in this population. The 64 adolescents were divided into 2 groups: 29 who had undergone induced abortion and 35 who had received a negative pregnancy test result. In the induced abortion group, 27 adolescents (93.1%) selected a reliable form of contraception (i.e., oral contraceptives or condom/foam) in their first clinic visit after the procedure. However, when these adolescents returned for the next follow-up visit, only 8 (27.6%) were still using contraception and only 3 of them (10.3%) were using a reliable method. The mean duration of contraceptive use in this group was 4.0 months (range, 1-13 months). At this follow-up visit, all 29 teenagers were persuaded to leave the clinic with oral contraceptives. In the negative pregnancy test group, 21 adolescents (60%) selected a reliable method after receiving their result. At the subsequent visit, 20 (57.2%) were still using contraception, but only 2 (5.8%) were using a reliable method. The mean duration of contraceptive use in this group was 3.7 months (range, 1-13 months). All 35 of the teenagers in this group accepted oral contraceptives at this follow-up visit. Reasons for acceptance of the birth control pill or condoms included previous suspected pregnancy, previous pregnancy or abortion, pregnancy of a friend, pressure from peers and parents, and concerns about menstrual irregularities. Forgetting to take the pill and condom breakage were the most frequently cited reasons for non-use.
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