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Cost versus effectiveness of different birth control methods
Population Studies
|November 15, 2011
Summary
This study found that combining withdrawal (coitus interruptus) with abortion for method failures is the most cost-effective birth control strategy. This challenges the view that abortion spending is inefficient, even with high cost valuations.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Health Economics
- Public Health Policy
Background:
- Current debates question the economic efficiency of abortion services within birth control.
- Understanding the cost-effectiveness of various contraceptive methods is crucial for resource allocation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To empirically assess the allocational efficiency of different birth control methods in the UK.
- To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of abortion as part of a birth control strategy.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of current British resource costs and effectiveness data for various birth control methods.
- Plotting quantifiable resource costs against effectiveness for each method.
- Economic modeling to determine the efficient frontier of contraceptive strategies.
Main Results:
- Contrary to popular opinion, abortion expenditure is not necessarily allocationally inefficient.
- Even with conservatively high cost valuations for abortion resources, it remains efficient.
- The most allocationally efficient frontier involves a combination of withdrawal (coitus interruptus) and abortion for method failures.
Conclusions:
- The optimal birth control strategy involves integrating abortion services for method failures.
- Resource allocation for reproductive health should consider the combined efficiency of contraception and abortion.
- Withdrawal combined with abortion for failures presents a highly efficient approach to birth control.
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