If you sell it, will they come?

Roughly a year after California enacted a law allowing pharmacists to dispense emergency contraceptive pills without a prescription, state residents were largely unaware of this option. (1) In a telephone survey conducted in 2003 among a representative sample of 1,151 Californians aged 15-44, three in five were aware that emergency contraception is available in the United States; of these, only 18% knew of the "pharmacy access" option. Whereas 46% of 18-44-year-olds who knew of emergency contraception had heard about it on TV, only 7% had heard about it from a health care professional; 90% had never discussed it with a health care provider. Half of women who were or anticipated being sexually active said they would be at least somewhat likely to use emergency contraception if they had unprotected sex or experienced method failure. Fifty-three percent said that pharmacy access would make them more likely to use the method, and 65% each said that their likelihood of using it would be increased if they had the pills on hand and if their doctor informed them about the method. While one in five sexually active women would be unwilling to pay for emergency contraception, one in three would pay $50 or more. The researchers conclude that "'over-the-counter' availability could broadly expand both knowledge and use of emergency contraception, but public education efforts will still be necessary to increase awareness."

(1.) Salganicoff A, Wentworth B and Ranji U, Emergency Contraception in California: Findings from a 2003 Kaiser Family Foundation Study, Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation, 2004.

FYI is compiled and written by Dore Hollander, executive editor of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.