De-medicalising contraception
Access to contraception is a reproductive health
right. While sex ‘just happens’, women need to
go through several hoops to obtain contraception.
Regulations, protocols and guidelines drive
service provision but do affect the perceptions
of both users and providers. Evidence-based
de-medicalisation of contraception may remove
personal and systematic barriers to effective use of
family planning methods. Emergency contraception
is a case study in this area. Other models of care
have emerged in the last decade. These include
over and under the counter oral contraception,
vending condoms and emergency contraception
and web based services. Themes emerging
from such models suggest that research, service
provision and advocacy schemes should aim to
push the boundaries of contraceptive regulation
towards user-friendly non-medicalised care.
Ali Kubba MB ChB FRCOG FFSRH, London, United Kingdom
OCs are the most studied drugs of the modern age. Their non-contraceptive benefits are signi-ficant but largely unknown to users. Their adverse effects are uncommon so most women are eligible to use OCs. The EBM tool for prescribing is the WHO Medical Eligibility Criteria. These are highly adaptable to checklists that users themselves or pharmacists/web based providers can use to select safe use.
Self selection or facilitated self selection for OC use, increases access and cuts costs for the user and the healthcare system. I will be discussing models of delivery and the experience from a small project in South London.