Initiating contraception in sexually transmitted disease clinic setting: a randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to determine the effectiveness of sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic-initiated contraceptive care. STUDY DESIGN: Nonpregnant women (n=877) attending an urban STD clinic using either no contraception or only condoms were randomly assigned to either an intervention (n=437) or control group (n=440). Both groups received condoms with spermicide and a referral list of primary care providers (PCP) for ongoing reproductive health care, and the intervention group also received enhanced contraceptive counseling, initial provision of contraception, and facilitated referral to a PCP. Outcomes measured at 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow-up were transition to a PCP, effective contraceptive use (ECU), interval pregnancy, and STD. RESULTS: The median time to PCP transition was 79 days for the intervention group versus 115 days for the control group (P=.007). Rates of ECU were higher for the intervention group than for control group at the 4-month visit (50% vs 22%, P<.0001) as well as the 8-month visit, although in the intervention group ECU diminished over the course of the study. During follow-up, pregnancy outcomes were documented for 229 women (26.1%), for an overall pregnancy rate of 38.2 per 100 person-years of follow-up. Of the 159 pregnancies defined by patient self-report, 153 (96.2%) were described as unintended and 32 (20%) resulted in a therapeutic abortion. The pregnancy rate was 15% lower in the intervention (105/437, 24.0%) than the control group (124/440, 28.2%) (P=.16), but this difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The intervention helped women transition to a PCP and initiate ECU but did not significantly reduce the pregnancy rate. More intensive interventions are needed to prevent unintended pregnancy in this high-risk population.

Predicting pregnancy risk in women attending an STD clinic.

BACKGROUND: Although sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics focus mainly on STD treatment and prevention, women attending these clinics are also at high risk for pregnancy. GOAL: To evaluate the relationship between certain demographic and behavioral characteristics and the probability of pregnancy in women attending an urban STD clinic. STUDY DESIGN: Non-contraceptive-using women in an STD clinic-initiated randomized controlled contraception study (n = 877) were interviewed at baseline, and incident pregnancies within 1 year of enrollment were measured. Association between baseline demographic and behavioral characteristics with incident pregnancy was assessed by chi-square analysis, and logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with an incident pregnancy. RESULTS: Among the 673 women (76.7%) for whom follow-up pregnancy information was available, 220 (32.7%) incident pregnancies occurred within 1 year. By logistic regression controlling for study assignment, incident pregnancy was associated with age < or =19 years (odds ratio [OR], 2.8; 95% CI: 1.5-5.2), previous abortion (OR, 3.1; 95% CI: 1.7-5.4), frequency of sexual encounters of at least once a week (OR, 1.8; 95% CI: 1.2-2.6), and having a chlamydial infection at the time of enrollment (OR, 1.8; 95% CI: 1.0-3.2). With a combination of demographic and behavioral characteristics correlated by univariate analysis with incident pregnancy (i.e., age < or =19 years, nonwhite race, high school/general equivalency diploma or less education, previous pregnancy, no use of birth control with last intercourse, sex at least once a week, previous abortion, > or =3 partners within the past month, and <17 years of age at first pregnancy), the cumulative risk of pregnancy with 6 or more of the 9 characteristics was 51%, compared with 25.6% for women with < or =5 characteristics. CONCLUSION: For this STD clinic population, a combination of demographic and behavioral characteristics was useful when combined for identifying a subgroup of women at higher risk for subsequent pregnancy. Targeted intervention by STD care providers should include the provision for both pregnancy and STD prevention counseling.