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A simple experiment to improve adherence for taking the oral contraceptive pill: An exploratory study of behavioural
Caitlin Liddelow1,2,3, Barbara A Mullan2,4, Mark Boyes2,4
1School of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
Objectives:
Full adherence is imperative to ensure the prevention of unintended pregnancies, which have serious health and financial impacts on women. Previous research has identified the importance of cues (habit-based) and providing information from a credible source (non-habit-based) in facilitating adherence.
Design:
A 6 week experiment was developed to increase adherence to the pill (primary outcome) as well as increase habit strength for taking the pill (secondary outcome).
Methods:
A sample of Australians who menstruate (N = 77, Mage = 25.18, SD = 3.49) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (1) a control group, (2) receiving information from a credible source, (3) implementing a daily cue, and (4) receiving both the information and instructions to implement a cue. At baseline and six-weeks, participants completed two measures of adherence to the pill, and a measure of habit strength.
Results:
Mixed-model ANOVAs revealed no significant changes in adherence to the pill across conditions, over time. There was a significant increase in habit strength over time (η2 = .11), across all conditions (η2 = .11). However, these changes did not significantly differ by condition (p = .071).
Conclusions:
These findings suggest participating in an experiment, regardless of condition, may make taking the pill more salient and thus increase habit strength. It also suggests that providing information from a credible source nor associating taking the pill with a daily cue substantially increased adherence. However, adherence was positively skewed and therefore these findings need to be further explored with individuals with lower adherence.
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