ANSIRH research

Community health centers are a critical source of primary and reproductive health care for low income women. Yet a strained workforce and competing demands often make it difficult for them to prioritize contraceptive care.

A relatively large number of women not seeking pregnancy engage in unprotected sex or use less effective contraceptive methods even when more effective methods are made available at no cost in a confidential setting. This study seeks to explore the reasons why young women choose not to adopt the more effective contraceptive methods that providers, policymakers and funders hope (and often assume) they desire.

Oral contraceptives (OCs) are one of the most widely used and effective methods of birth control available worldwide. They are one of the best-studied and safest medications on the market today, yet in most of North America and Western Europe a prescription is required to obtain them.