Skip Navigation



Hum. Reprod. Advance Access published online on September 27, 2007
Human Reproduction, doi:10.1093/humrep/dem259
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
22/12/3078    most recent
dem259v1
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hamani, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Haimov-Kochman, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Hamani, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Haimov-Kochman, R.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Misconceptions about oral contraception pills among adolescents and physicians

Y. Hamani, Y. Sciaki-Tamir, R. Deri-Hasid, T. Miller-Pogrund, A. Milwidsky and R. Haimov-Kochman1

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Mount Scopus, PO Box 24035, Jerusalem 24035, Israel

1 Corresponding address. Tel: +972-2-584-4111; Fax: +972-2-581-4210; E-mail: kochman{at}hadassah.org.il

BACKGROUND: Limited access to contraception and poor compliance are the major reasons for unintended pregnancy in adolescence. This study was designed to compare knowledge of the combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP) in teenage users and non-users. We speculated that consultations between COCP users and their physicians would dispel misconceptions.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken in public clinics affiliated with an academic center. High school-educated female adolescents aged 14-20 years opting for contraception (n = 254) and Israeli physicians (n = 114) specializing in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology participated in the study. Information about past or present COCP use and views of the COCP were recorded by employing a ten-question YES/NO self-completion questionnaire, designed by the researchers.

RESULTS: The prevalence of incorrect beliefs was exceedingly high in the whole adolescent study group and relatively high among the physicians. The prevalence of incorrect beliefs was comparable between COCP users and non-users, regarding the 10 misconceptions investigated. The duration of COCP use did not influence the prevalence of misconceptions about the pill. Age did not serve as a confounding factor for all misconceptions.

CONCLUSIONS: Lack of informative communication between COCP-prescribing physicians and users and mistaken knowledge of the caring physicians may contribute to adolescent ignorance of the COCP. Focusing on adolescent-specific disbeliefs could lead to construction of better educational programs in schools and clinics.

Key words: adolescence/belief/oral contraception/misconception

Submitted on March 3, 2007; resubmitted on July 8, 2007; accepted on July 18, 2007.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.