The French "pill scare" : Did women go to a gynecologist more often to have an easier access to the IUD?

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BACKGROUND: In December 2012, a media controversy about negative side-effects of oral contraceptives on women's health, also called "pill scare", broke out in France. While several analyses highlighted a change in women's contraceptive practices following this media controversy, no analysis has been conducted to determine the possible changes in their choices of health professionals and its repercussions on their contraceptive use.

METHODS: Our study is based on data from three population-based cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2010, 2013 and 2016 (Fecond 2010, Fecond 2013 and Baromètre Santé 2016) that collected information on women's contraceptive practices and the specialties of the health professionals having prescribed the methods they were using.

RESULTS: Between 2010 and 2016, women went to a gynecologist or a midwife more often than to a general practitioner for prescription of a reversible contraceptive method. However, their changes in visiting prescribers did not explain the changes in their contraceptive practices observed over the period. In 2016, access to health professional remained largely dependent on women's socio-demographic characteristics: older ones and those from a more privileged social background or living in urban areas were more likely to consult a gynecologist for prescription of their contraceptive method. On the other hand, consultations of midwives for contraceptive prescription were more frequent among women with children and among those who relied on public health insurance alone.

CONCLUSION: Following the "pill scare" that occurred in France in December 2012, the decision by some women to use the IUD instead of the pill led them to change health professionals, and also led practitioners to change their prescribing practices.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2020

Erschienen:

2020

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:68

Enthalten in:

Revue d'epidemiologie et de sante publique - 68(2020), 6 vom: 01. Nov., Seite 347-355

Sprache:

Französisch

Weiterer Titel:

La « crise des pilules » en France : les femmes ont-elles davantage consulté un.e gynécologue afin d’accéder plus facilement au DIU ?

Beteiligte Personen:

Le Guen, M [VerfasserIn]
Agius, R [VerfasserIn]
Panjo, H [VerfasserIn]
Moreau, C [VerfasserIn]
groupe Baromètre Santé 2016 [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Accès aux professionnel·le·s de santé
Access to health professionals
Contraception
Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal
Crise des pilules
DIU
France
Historical Article
IUD
Implant
Journal Article
Pill
Pill scare
Pilule
Tablets

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 24.09.2021

Date Revised 24.09.2021

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1016/j.respe.2020.10.003

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM317300423