Adolescent comprehension of emergency contraception in New York City

To estimate comprehension of the over-the-counter emergency contraception label among female adolescents aged 12 through 17 years, and to compare the results with a similar study that focused on adults.

Surveys were administered to female adolescents in New York City in public venues such as malls, movie theaters, and parks. Participants were asked to read the emergency contraception (levonorgestrel) label before answering survey questions. Comparisons were made in SPSS version 13.0 using chi tests of independence and Fisher exact tests for sparse data.

One thousand eighty-five girls between the ages of 12 and 17 participated in the study. Overall, adolescents demonstrated high comprehension of the key points of emergency contraception: (1) that it is a method of preventing pregnancy 92% (confidence interval [CI] 91-94%); (2) that it has to be taken within the first 72 hours after unprotected intercourse 83% (CI 83-87%); (3) that if you are already pregnant emergency contraception will not be effective 87% (CI 85-89%); (4) that emergency contraception will not protect against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) 95% (CI 94-96%); and (5) that emergency contraception should not be used as a method of long-term birth control 85% (CI 83-87%).

After reading the emergency contraception (levonorgestrel) label, female adolescents aged 12 to 17 understood the information necessary to use emergency contraception safely and effectively as well as their adult counterparts.

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