Contraception and pregnancy after dropping out of family planning clinics

A national interview survey in Jamaica

Bibliographic Data

ID10518804
AuthorsMichael B Bracken (Yale University, corresponding author)
Year1976
Volume23
Issue1
Pages55-65
Publication date1976-03-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Biology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0037-766X
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/19485565.1976.9988203
PMID959859
OpenAlexW2171658123
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited23

Interviews were conducted among a random national sample of 299 clinic dropouts from the Jamaica National Family Planning Program at least 5 months after their 1st missed clinic appointment. The Health Belief Model is used as a framework for discussion of the findings; this model has been recently modified to allow for "compliance" behavior which considers factors associated with continuing medical treatment. The objective is to determine continued contraceptive practice after dropping out, a measure of "compliance," and the pregnancy experience since visiting the clinic. Of the 299 women, 52.5% had stopped visiting the clinics after 1 or 2 visits; 47.5% had stopped after 3 or more visits; and 35.1% stopped after 4 or more visits. Approximately 90% of the women who subsequently dropped out of the clinic started using contraception after their 1st visit. About 40% of the respondents had used some form of family planning since dropping out of the clinic, and longer contact with the clinic prior to dropping out was strongly associ ated with continued contraceptive practice. It was found that women who continued contraception tended to be older, of higher parity, to have had more education, to have been older at 1st pregnancy, to be married, and to have stopped visiting the clinic because the time was inconvenient. On pregnancy experience since dropping out, only 6 women stopped visiting the family planning clinic because they wanted to become pregnant. Of the great majority of women who did not drop out because they wanted to conceive, over 1/4 were pregnant at the time of the interview. The number of visits to the clinic before dropping out did not correlate with pregnancy. In using the Health Belief Model as it applies to continued clinic attendance, length of attendance at the clinic before dropping out, and contraception after dropping out, a strong relationship was observed between period of clinic attendance prior to dropping out and continued contraception since visiting the cli nic - the more visits before dropping out the better the chance of continued contraception

Environmental health · Family medicine · Family planning · National Survey of Family Growth · Population · Pregnancy · Research methodology · Global Maternal and Child Health · Healthcare Policy and Management · Medicine · Primary Care and Health Outcomes

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