Geary, RS;
Tomes, C;
Jones, KG;
Glasier, A;
Macdowall, W;
Datta, J;
Sonnenberg, P;
... Johnson, AM; + view all
(2016)
Actual and preferred contraceptive sources among young people: findings from the British National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles.
BMJ Open
, 6
(9)
, Article e011966. 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011966.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe actual and preferred contraceptive sources among young people in Britain and whether discordance between these is associated with markers of sexual risk behaviour or poor sexual health. DESIGN: Cross-sectional probability sample survey. SETTING: British general population. PARTICIPANTS: 3869 men and women aged 16-24 years interviewed for the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3) between 2010 and 2012. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Reported source of contraceptive method(s) and preferred source if all were available and easily accessible. RESULTS: Of the 75% of young people (aged 16-24) who were heterosexually active (1619 women, 1233 men), >86% reported obtaining contraceptives in the past year. Most common sources were general practice (women, 63%) and retail (men, 60%): using multiple sources was common (women 40%, men 45%). Healthcare sources were preferred by 81% of women and 57% of men. Overall, 32% of women and 39% of men had not used their preferred source. This discordance was most common among men who preferred general practice (69%) and women who preferred retail (52%). Likelihood of discordance was higher among women who usually used a less effective contraceptive method or had an abortion. It was less likely among men who usually used a less effective method of contraception and men who were not in a steady relationship. CONCLUSIONS: Most young people in Britain obtained contraception in the past year but one-third had not used their preferred source. Healthcare sources were preferred. Discordance was associated with using less effective contraception and abortion among young women. Meeting young people's preference for obtaining contraception from healthcare sources could improve uptake of effective contraception to reduce unwanted pregnancies.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Actual and preferred contraceptive sources among young people: findings from the British National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles. |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011966 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011966 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt and build upon this work, for commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Britain, Contraceptive Service Use, Sexual Behaviour, Sexual Health, Young People |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute for Global Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute for Global Health > Infection and Population Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1521885 |
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