Contraceptive services for teenagers: do we need family planning clinics?
Allaby, M.A.
Bmj 310(6995): 1641-1643
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0959-8138 PMID: 7795452 Document Number: 376106
A public health physician analyzed data from family planning clinics and family health service authorities and data on births and abortions to learn whether the effectiveness of contraceptive services for adolescents in 8 health districts of the former Oxford region of England is linked to the balance of service provision between general practitioners and family planning services. The data covered 1990-1992. The conception rate:uptake of contraceptive services ratio was used as a means to measure the effectiveness of contraceptive services for adolescents. The proportion of users of contraceptive services who attended a family planning clinic ranged from 38% to 79% among adolescents 13-15 years old and from 14% to 44% among those 16-19 years old. The conception rate:uptake of contraceptive services ratio ranged from 0.1 to 0.36 among adolescents ages 13-15 and from 0.12 to 0.23 among those ages 16-19. This ratio decreased as the proportion of users of contraceptive services who attended a family planning clinic increased among both 13-15 year olds (p = 0.002) and 16-19 year olds (p = 0.04). It varied 3-fold in the 13-15 year old age group and 2-fold in the 16-19 year old age group. An 8-week survey in district E showed that 334 adolescents ages 13-19 attended a family planning clinic. 13% were currently registered with a general practitioner for contraceptive advice. 12% lived outside the district. These findings suggest that contraceptive services for adolescents are more effective in districts where family planning clinics contribute greatly to delivering contraceptive services, especially for adolescents younger than 16, rather than those in which general practitioners provide these services.