College of Nursing, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1121, USA.
Public Health Nurs. 2011 Jul-Aug;28(4):317-24. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-1446.2011.00951.x. Epub 2011 Apr 15.
To compare availability of emergency contraception in Iowa pharmacies, before and after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved over-the-counter sales and identify reasons why over-the-counter, emergency contraception might still not be available in some Iowa pharmacies.
Secondary analysis of data collected for an existing, descriptive study. A total of 906 pharmacies were identified; 405 (56.8%) pharmacies participated before, and 308 (43.2%) after the FDA policy change.
Data collected via a scripted telephone survey.
After the FDA changed its policy and allowed over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception, the percentage of Iowa pharmacies offering emergency contraception increased from 57.8% to 70%. In the before sampling, 67.5% reported a perceived lack of demand as the primary reason for not carrying emergency contraception 66.7% reported this rationale in the after group. Other reasons included store policy, and moral, religious, or personal reasons. Pharmacists were surprisingly uninformed about the action of emergency contraception; before the FDA approved over-the-counter sales 53% believed the drugs primarily worked by blocking implantation of a fertilized egg. Indeed, even after FDA approved over-the-counter sales, 38% of pharmacists still believed that emergency contraception was comparable to an abortifacient. In addition, before the policy changed, 43.8% of pharmacists accepted emergency contraception as safe for teenagers; this percentage fell to 27.9% after the policy change.
Significant increases in the carrying of emergency contraception suggest the policy did succeed in increasing access. Despite this, barriers to access exist. Further research should explore why pharmacies might not carry emergency contraception.
比较美国食品和药物管理局（FDA）批准非处方销售前后爱荷华州药店紧急避孕措施的供应情况，并确定为什么在某些爱荷华州药店，非处方紧急避孕药仍然无法获得的原因。
对现有描述性研究收集的数据进行二次分析。总共确定了 906 家药店；405 家（56.8%）药店在 FDA 政策变更前参与，308 家（43.2%）药店在政策变更后参与。
通过脚本电话调查收集数据。
在 FDA 改变其政策并允许非处方销售紧急避孕药后，提供紧急避孕药的爱荷华州药店的比例从 57.8%增加到 70%。在采样前，67.5%的药店表示缺乏需求是不携带紧急避孕药的主要原因，66.7%的药店在采样后表示这是主要原因。其他原因包括商店政策以及道德、宗教或个人原因。药剂师对紧急避孕药的作用知之甚少，令人惊讶；在 FDA 批准非处方销售之前，53%的药剂师认为这些药物主要通过阻止受精卵着床起作用。事实上，即使在 FDA 批准非处方销售后，仍有 38%的药剂师认为紧急避孕药与堕胎药相当。此外，在政策改变之前，43.8%的药剂师认为紧急避孕药对青少年是安全的；这一比例在政策改变后降至 27.9%。
携带紧急避孕药的比例显著增加表明该政策确实成功地增加了可及性。尽管如此，仍然存在获得紧急避孕措施的障碍。进一步的研究应该探索为什么药店可能不携带紧急避孕药。
