Emergency Contraception Pill Awareness and Knowledge in Uninsured Adolescents: High Rates of Misconceptions Concerning Indications for Use, Side Effects, and Access

Abstract Study Objective To determine the awareness of, access to, and knowledge of the proper use of emergency contraception pills (ECPs) among uninsured adolescents. Design Anonymous surveys were used to assess awareness of, knowledge of, and access to ECPs. Setting From 2010 to 2012 at mobile primary care clinic in the San Francisco Bay Area. Participants Patients were uninsured adolescents aged 13 to 25; 40% of the participants were currently or had been homeless in the past year. Ethnicity was 50% Asian, 22% Hispanic, 17% Pacific Islanders, 5.5% white, and 5.5% other/mixed ethnicity. Interventions Post survey completion, patients received one-on-one 15-minute dedicated ECP education. Main Outcome Measures Awareness of, knowledge of, and access to ECPs. Results Of the study population of 439, 30% of the participants were 13-16 years old and 70% were 17-25 years old (mean age 17.8 years); 66% were women. Young women (86%) reported higher rates of “hearing about emergency contraception” than did young men (70%) ( P