Guía Nacional de Anticoncepción para Adolescentes / National Guide to Contraception for Adolescents

Abordada desde la perspectiva del MSPAS que es consciente de que el embarazo en adolescentes afecta su salud, desarrollo y proyecto de vida, y que ha contribuido al logro de avances importantes, para garantizar los derechos sexuales y reproductivos de los adolescentes que son atendidos en las redes de servicios de salud. Además, el documento refleja los compromisos adquiridos en torno a disminuir: embarazos en adolescentes y muertes maternas, además de la prevención del VIH/Sida, las ITS y la violencia sexual. Esta guía está dirigida al personal de salud de los tres niveles de atención del MSPAS con la finalidad de fortalecer las competencias técnicas y orientarles para que brinden atención de forma integral y con calidad, garantizando la información, orientación, consejería balanceada y provisión de métodos anticonceptivos y porque además el ministerio, aporta atención desde espacios amigables y clínicas integrales hospitalarias para adolescentes, así como la provisión de métodos anticonceptivos (y clínicas de planificación familiar).

Use of and access to oral and injectable contraceptives in Brazil / Utilização e acesso a contraceptivos orais e injetáveis no Brasil

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To analyze the prevalence of current use of oral and injectable contraceptives by Brazilian women, according to demographic and socioeconomic variables and issues related to access to those medicines. METHODS A cross-sectional, population-based analytical study with probability sampling based on data from the Pesquisa Nacional sobre Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos (PNAUM – National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines), carried out between September 2013 and February 2014 in 20,404 Brazilian urban households. Prevalence was calculated based on reports from non-pregnant women aged 15-49 on the use of oral or injectable contraceptives. The independent variables were gender, age, level of education, socioeconomic class, Brazilian region and marital status. Also analyzed were access, means of payment, sources, and reported medicines. Statistical analyses considered 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) and Pearson Chi-square test to evaluate the statistical significance of differences between groups, considering a 5% significance level. RESULTS Prevalence of use was 28.2% for oral contraceptives (OC) and 4.5% for injectable contraceptives (IC). The highest prevalence of oral contraceptives was in the South region (37.5%) and the lowest in the North region (15.7%). For injectable contraceptives there was no difference between regions. Access was higher for oral contraceptive users (90.7%) than injectable contraceptives users (81.2%), as was direct payment (OC 78.1%, IC 58.0%). Users who paid for contraceptives acquired them at retail pharmacies (OC 95.0% and IC 86.6%) and at Farmácia Popular (Popular Pharmacy Program) (OC 4.8% and IC 12.7%). Free of charge contraceptives were mostly obtained from the Brazilian Unified Health System – SUS (OC 86.7%; IC 96.0%). Free samples were reported by 10.4% of users who did not pay for oral contraceptives. Most of paying users did not try to obtain contraceptives from SUS. Monophasic combined oral contraceptives were the most frequently reported (71.6%) and low-level levonorgestrel + ethinylestradiol combination accounted for 38.7% of them. The most frequently reported medicines are included in the Relação Nacional de Medicamentos Essenciais (RENAME – National List of Essential Medicines. CONCLUSIONS Most women aged 15 to 49 who reported using contraceptives had access to the medicine and use monophasic combined oral contraceptives of appropriate efficiency and safety purchased by direct payment, mainly from retail pharmacies.

RESUMO OBJETIVO Analisar a prevalência do uso atual de contraceptivos orais e injetáveis por mulheres brasileiras, segundo variáveis demográficas, socioeconômicas e aspectos relacionados ao acesso a esses medicamentos. MÉTODOS Estudo transversal, analítico, baseado nos dados da Pesquisa Nacional sobre Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos (PNAUM), de base populacional e amostra probabilística, realizada entre setembro/2013 e fevereiro/2014, em 20.404 domicílios urbanos brasileiros. A prevalência foi calculada a partir do relato das mulheres de 15 a 49 anos, não grávidas, sobre o uso de contraceptivos orais ou contraceptivos injetáveis. As variáveis independentes foram sexo, idade, escolaridade, nível socioeconômico, região geográfica e situação conjugal. Também foram analisados acesso, fontes de financiamento, fontes de obtenção e medicamentos citados. As análises estatísticas consideraram intervalos de confiança de 95% (IC95%) e teste Qui-quadrado de Pearson para avaliação da significância estatística das diferenças entre os grupos, considerando o nível de significância de 5%. RESULTADOS A prevalência de uso de contraceptivos orais (CO) foi 28,2% e de contraceptivos injetáveis (CI), 4,5%. A prevalência de contraceptivos orais foi maior no Sul (37,5%) e menor no Norte (15,7%). Para contraceptivos injetáveis não houve diferença entre as regiões. O acesso foi maior para as usuárias de contraceptivos orais (90,7%) do que de contraceptivos injetáveis (81,2%), assim como o pagamento por desembolso direto (CO 78,1%; CI 58,0%). As usuárias que pagaram pelo contraceptivo compraram na farmácia comercial (CO 95,0% e CI 86,6%) e na Farmácia Popular (CO 4,8% e CI 12,7%). A principal fonte de obtenção gratuita foi o SUS (CO 86,7%; CI 96,0%). Amostra grátis foi citada por 10,4% das usuárias que não pagaram pelos contraceptivos orais. A maioria das usuárias que pagaram, não tentou obter no SUS. Contraceptivos orais combinados monofásico foram os mais citados (71,6%) e a combinação levonorgestrel+etinilestradiol de baixa concentração representou 38,7% destes. Os medicamentos mais citados constam na Relação Nacional de medicamentos Essenciais. CONCLUSÕES A maioria das mulheres entre 15 e 49 anos que referiram usar contraceptivos obteve acesso ao medicamento, usa contraceptivos orais combinados monofásico, de eficácia e segurança adequada, obtido com pagamento do próprio bolso, principalmente, nas farmácias comerciais.

Effectiveness of depot-holders introduced in urban areas: evidence from a pilot in Bangladesh.

Depot-holders are women from the community who promote good health practice and use of clinics. They keep a stock of contraceptives and oral rehydration salts to supply other women and are paid some incentives. In 2003, the NGO Service Delivery Program (NSDP) introduced depot-holders in three types of urban area in Bangladesh as a pilot. This evaluation study was carried out to: (a) establish a baseline for measuring the impact of activities of depot-holders on a comprehensive range of indicators in the long-term, (b) make a preliminary assessment of the impact on the use of selected services of the essen-tial services package (ESP) and other indicators at the end of the pilot phase, and (c) assess the cost of introducing depot-holders and running their activities for a year. Data from the baseline and end of pilot household surveys, together with service statistics from the intervention and comparison areas, were used for assessing the changes in clinic use and commodity distribution. The study found evidence that the depot-holders transferred knowledge to women in the community, provided services, and referred women to clinics run by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). There was a large increase in the number of client contacts at the NGO clinics and in the quantity of oral contraceptive pills and oral re-hydration salts distributed by the NGOs, mostly attributable to the activities of the depot-holders. The estimated cost per depot-holder per year was Tk 15,241 (U.S. dollars 262). Overall, the performance of the depot-holders in the pilot phase suggests that they can be introduced in different types of urban area and can be effective in their dual role as providers and promoters of services.

Anticonceptivos, VIH y otras enfermedades de transmisión sexual / Anticonceptives, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases

La gran mayoría de las mujeres en riesgo para adquirir el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana (VIH) y otras enfermedades de transmisión sexual (ETS) está en la edad reproductiva y es usuaria actual o potencial de anticonceptivos. Ciertas ETS aumentan el riesgo de la mujer para contraer el VIH debido a daños producidos en la integridad del epitelio vaginal y vulvar. También existe evidencia de que el uso de algunos métodos anticoneptivos, como son los dispositivos intrauterinos y los productos hormonales pueden traer riesgos incrementados para contraer el VIH y otras ETS. Los condones y los espermicidas hasta cierto punto ofrecen protección contra estas enfermedades, pero no son muy efectivos como anticonceptivos. Las interrelaciones entre estos riesgos son muy importantes y constituyen una preocupación grande en el área de la salud reproductiva de la mujer. Asimismo la vulnerabilidad de las mujeres frente de este tipo de enfermedades tienen que ver con una variedad de aspectos sociales de inequidad; entre las desigualdades a que están sujetas las mujeres se cuenta su falta de poder, para negociar exitosamente en cuanto a las relaciones sexuales. Otro problema relacionado es la deficiencia de métodos de prevención del VIH y otras enfermedades venéreas que las mujeres puedan controlar. La mayoría en la atención a la salud reproductiva de la mujer depende de nuevos productos de prevención y cambios estructurales en los servicios de la salud, así como esfuerzos continuos para la invstigación sobre las interrelaciones entre métodos anticonceptivos, el VIH y otras ETS

A Comparative Study for Delinquents and Nondelinquents at Nanakuli Family Planning Clinic in Hawaii, U.S.A

Family planning is a very complex matter and has many ramifications so that one may expect a variety of problems besetting operation of family planning programs. One of the problems advocated so far is the drop-out rate or delinquent appointment rate of family planning clinics which is known to be as high as to deserve special attention. It is an urgent issue to be studied so that the family planning clinics could take measures to insure the continued optimal utilization of the services offered. Hence, the Nanakuli Family Planning Clinic was chosen as a sample to study and find out any differences and similarities between the "Delinquents" and "Non-delinquents" of the clinic, hoping that any meaningful facts brought out by this study could get the clinic to have the optimal utilization of the services by it's clients. Specific conclusions resulting from this study are the optimal utilization of family planning service by clients could not be expected without providing provisions for the biological, situational, and environmental problems of the clients as well as the administrative and managerial problems besetting the clinic operation itself.