Pharmacy provision of emergency contraception to men: a survey of pharmacist attitudes in Rhode Island.

OBJECTIVE

To describe pharmacy staff members' attitudes and practices related to male emergency contraception (EC) requests, as well as the occurrence of male purchases in Rhode Island.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Pharmacies throughout Rhode Island during April to August 2008.

PARTICIPANTS

226 pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

INTERVENTION

Participants were mailed a 21-item closed-ended questionnaire.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Demographics, EC provision practices, recall of male EC purchases, and attitudes toward male EC access.

RESULTS

Of 151 pharmacies surveyed, 91 responded, providing 226 individual pharmacy staff member surveys. Among this population, 95.6% sold EC. Although 59.7% believed male EC purchases occurred rarely, 63.3% sold EC to a man in the previous year. Ten (4.4%) respondents refused sale of EC to a man. Respondents were less likely to agree that men should always have access if they also believed that access would decrease regular contraceptive use (P = 0.008) and if they could not verify the female recipient's consent (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Pharmacists and technicians commonly believed that male EC purchases did not occur or occurred rarely; however, more than one-half of this population sold EC to men. Although the majority expressed personal reservations against providing EC to men, they still agreed that men should have access to EC. These findings suggest that pharmacies are an acceptable setting for male EC access and that although refusal exists, it may not be a barrier to access.