Immediate recall of oral contraceptive instructions: implications for providers.

OBJECTIVE

The object of the study was to determine the patient characteristics associated with inadequate recall of oral contraceptive pill-taking instructions.

STUDY DESIGN

Sexually active women aged 13 to 40 years (n = 150) attending university-based family planning clinics completed anonymous self-report measures that assessed demographic and reproductive characteristics, understanding of pill-taking instructions, and contraceptive compliance. Logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with inadequate recall for the sample, stratified by minority versus nonminority women.

RESULTS

Minority women with inadequate recall were almost 6 times more likely than minority women with adequate recall not to know the name of the prescribed oral contraceptive and were 3 times more likely to have less than a high school education. In addition there were 1-fold and 2-fold increases in likelihood of inadequate recall as certainty of pill-taking instructions and general oral contraceptive knowledge, respectively, decreased. Inadequate recall was associated with poor compliance.

CONCLUSION

Women with inadequate recall may be identified at the conclusion of their visit so that interventions to enhance their pill-taking skills can be provided.