STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare acceptability of the vaginal contraceptive ring to that of oral contraceptive pills. DESIGN: Randomized, cross-over, 6-month study. SETTING:Urban family planning clinic for young low-income patients. PARTICIPANTS: Sexually active females aged 15-21 years (n = 130). INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomly assigned to use the vaginal ring or oral contraceptive pills for an initial study interval of three 28-day cycles, followed by three cycles of the alternate method. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants completed surveys about method use, acceptability, and side effects at baseline, after three cycles, and after six cycles. We analyzed study data using ANOVA models for cross-over designs. RESULTS: We did not detect higher compliance with the ring as compared to oral contraceptive pills (P = 0.176), although overall approval of the ring was significantly higher on several items measured, including liked using method (P = 0.015), would recommend it to friends (P = 0.012), and not as hard to remember to use method correctly (P < or = 0.000). Participants were less worried about health risks while using the ring (P = 0.006), but reported that the ring was more likely to interfere with sex than the pill (P < or = 0.001) and that sex partners liked the pill (P = 0.034). Most women did not report bothersome side effects with either method. CONCLUSIONS:Adolescent and young women showed favorable acceptability of the vaginal contraceptive ring compared to oral contraceptive pills.
RCT Entities:
STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare acceptability of the vaginal contraceptive ring to that of oral contraceptive pills. DESIGN: Randomized, cross-over, 6-month study. SETTING: Urban family planning clinic for young low-income patients. PARTICIPANTS: Sexually active females aged 15-21 years (n = 130). INTERVENTIONS:Participants were randomly assigned to use the vaginal ring or oral contraceptive pills for an initial study interval of three 28-day cycles, followed by three cycles of the alternate method. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants completed surveys about method use, acceptability, and side effects at baseline, after three cycles, and after six cycles. We analyzed study data using ANOVA models for cross-over designs. RESULTS: We did not detect higher compliance with the ring as compared to oral contraceptive pills (P = 0.176), although overall approval of the ring was significantly higher on several items measured, including liked using method (P = 0.015), would recommend it to friends (P = 0.012), and not as hard to remember to use method correctly (P < or = 0.000). Participants were less worried about health risks while using the ring (P = 0.006), but reported that the ring was more likely to interfere with sex than the pill (P < or = 0.001) and that sex partners liked the pill (P = 0.034). Most women did not report bothersome side effects with either method. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent and young women showed favorable acceptability of the vaginal contraceptive ring compared to oral contraceptive pills.
Authors: Kathleen Ridgeway; Elizabeth T Montgomery; Kevin Smith; Kristine Torjesen; Ariane van der Straten; Sharon L Achilles; Jennifer B Griffin Journal: Contraception Date: 2021-10-10 Impact factor: 3.051
Authors: Tina R Raine; Laura B Epstein; Cynthia C Harper; Beth A Brown; Cherrie B Boyer Journal: J Adolesc Health Date: 2009-05-30 Impact factor: 5.012
Authors: Eleanor McLellan-Lemal; Roman Gvetadze; Mitesh A Desai; Esther M Makanga; Yi Pan; Richard E Haaland; Angela N Holder; Victor Mudhune; Tiffany Williams; Taraz Samandari Journal: J Glob Health Rep Date: 2018
Authors: Kate Morrow Guthrie; Sara Vargas; Julia G Shaw; Rochelle K Rosen; Jacob J van den Berg; Patrick F Kiser; Karen Buckheit; Dana Bregman; Lara Thompson; Kathleen Jensen; Todd Johnson; Robert W Buckheit Journal: PLoS One Date: 2015-12-22 Impact factor: 3.240