Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine/Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02118, USA.
Pediatrics. 2012 Apr;129(4):624-9. doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-3760. Epub 2012 Mar 26.
Emergency contraception (EC) is an effective pregnancy prevention strategy. EC is available without a prescription to those aged 17 years or older. The objective of this study was to assess the accuracy of information provided to adolescents and their physicians when they telephone pharmacies to inquire about EC.
By using standardized scripts, female callers telephoned 943 pharmacies in 5 US cities posing as 17-year-old adolescents or as physicians calling on behalf of their 17-year-old patients. McNemar tests were used to compare outcomes between adolescent and physician callers.
Seven hundred fifty-nine pharmacies (80%) indicated to adolescent callers, and 766 (81%) to physician callers, that EC was available on the day of the call. However, 145 pharmacies (19%) incorrectly told the adolescent callers that it would be impossible to obtain EC under any circumstances, compared with 23 pharmacies (3%) for physician callers. Pharmacies conveyed the correct age to dispense EC without a prescription in 431 adolescent calls (57%) and 466 physician calls (61%). Compared with physician callers, adolescent callers were put on hold more often (54% vs 26%) and spoke to self-identified pharmacists less often (3% vs 12%, P < .0001). When EC was not available, 36% and 33% of pharmacies called by adolescents and physicians respectively offered no additional suggestions on how to obtain it.
Most pharmacies report having EC in stock. However, misinformation regarding who can take EC, and at what age it is available without a prescription, is common. Such misinformation may create barriers to timely access.
紧急避孕（EC）是一种有效的妊娠预防策略。17 岁及以上人群可无需处方获得 EC。本研究的目的是评估青少年及其医生打电话向药房询问 EC 时获得的信息的准确性。
通过使用标准化脚本，女性来电者以 17 岁青少年或代表其 17 岁患者的医生身份，向美国 5 个城市的 943 家药店打电话咨询。采用 McNemar 检验比较青少年和医生来电者的结果。
759 家（80%）药店告诉青少年来电者，766 家（81%）药店告诉医生来电者，在打电话当天可以获得 EC。然而，145 家（19%）药店错误地告诉青少年来电者，在任何情况下都不可能获得 EC，而医生来电者仅有 23 家（3%）药店如此告知。431 次青少年来电（57%）和 466 次医生来电（61%）中，药店传达了正确的无需处方分发 EC 的年龄。与医生来电者相比，青少年来电者更常被转接（54%比 26%），与自报身份为药剂师的交谈者更少（3%比 12%，P<.0001）。当 EC 不可用时，分别有 36%和 33%的青少年和医生来电者的药店未提供如何获得 EC 的其他建议。
大多数药店报告有 EC 库存。然而，关于谁可以服用 EC 以及在什么年龄无需处方即可获得 EC 的错误信息很常见。这种错误信息可能会阻碍及时获得 EC。
