Standardized Contraceptive Handout Facilitates Contraceptive Counseling

Effective public provision of contraceptive services depends upon regular interventions at the primary care level. Recognizing the need to improve the frequency and quality of contraceptive counseling at a rural family medicine residency, this study sought to determine if the introduction of a simple teaching tool would lead to an increase in the rates of such counseling.

Resident physicians at a rural clinic provided contraceptive counseling to all eligible women, utilizing a simple educational table as a teaching aid. Rates of counseling were compared before, during, and after the intervention.

A total of 3,606 patient encounters were included for analysis. Rates of contraceptive counseling in the preintervention period (n=832) and postintervention period (n=1,983) increased significantly (0.8% vs 5.2%, P<0.001). In addition, rates of counseling increased from the intervention phase (n=791) to the postintervention period (2.4% vs 5.2%, P<0.001).

The introduction of educational tools may increase rates of contraceptive counseling without being an undue burden upon providers.