Contraception Use and Counseling at a Student-Run Free Clinic
Abstract
Background: In the United States, about half of all pregnancies are unplanned. Unplanned pregnancy carries increased risks to patient and fetus and is increased independently by both poverty and being a racial or ethnic minority. The purpose of this study was to examine the percentage and types of contraceptives used by patients at the student-run Building Relationships and Initiatives Dedicated to Gaining Equality (BRIDGE) Healthcare Clinic and determine if clinic staff provided appropriate annual contraceptive counseling.
Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed for all active BRIDGE patients that were female and aged 18-60 between 2015 and 2020. Information collected included demographics, obstetric history, tobacco use, medical history of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or hypertension, and contraception use.
Results: Of 145 patients reviewed, 77.2% used contraception at some point during the study period. Surgical contraception was the most common form used. No patients with a documented history of DVT or tobacco use used estrogen-containing contraception during the study period. One patient out of the twenty with documented hypertension used an estrogen-containing form of contraception for one year.
Conclusions: Overall, our clinic counseled the majority of patients of child-bearing age on contraception use. Contraception use in our population is above the national average and is appropriately prescribed.
Copyright (c) 2022 Amanda Pitre, Yamini Mulla, Bianca Arboleda, Eliza Nguyen, Heather Stewart, Emma Hale, Elizabeth Cook, Alexander Shahin, Lucy Guerra, Deborah Trehy, Karim Hanna, Eduardo Gonzalez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.