Contraceptive side effects: the case for considering lived experiences in contraceptive consultations

Recent research has shown that women often report that their concerns are not listened to in exchanges with clinicians when accessing reproductive healthcare, including contraceptive consultations. When people do not feel listened to, or have their concerns taken seriously, this can lead to disengagement with contraceptive services and distrust of healthcare professionals.

A participatory approach, with 18 volunteer researchers interviewing 52 friends and family members about information-seeking and contraceptive methods.

Most participants were not satisfied with contraceptive consultations and felt that healthcare professionals did not give them all the information they wanted. Because of this, they found personal stories about contraception to be very important in their information-seeking and decision-making processes. Sharing these stories, both what they heard from others and their own experiences, helped them consider the potential side effects of different contraceptive methods. Participants thereby drew on vernacular knowledge (unofficial, informal and everyday culture of a group), some of which was accessed through social media. Vernacular knowledge also included experiential knowledge, as provided by friends and family members. This kind of knowledge was not covered in their contraceptive consultations.

Patients' understanding of side effects does not always align with medical evidence. Dismissing reported side effects can undermine patient experience, leading to disengagement or the seeking of counter-expertise. Practitioner knowledge and patient vernacular knowledge should be considered together when counselling about contraceptives. Our research suggests that a more prominent culture of active listening is required in clinician-patient exchanges that acknowledges and works with patient concerns and lived experiences.