Pharmacy access to the emergency contraceptive pill: A national survey of a random sample of Australian women

Abstract

Background: The emergency contraceptive pill (ECP) has the potential to assist in reducing unintended pregnancy and abortion rates. Since its rescheduling to pharmacy availability without prescription in Australia in January 2004, there is little information about Australian women's knowledge, attitudes and use of the ECP. The aim of this study was to measure the knowledge about the ECP and sociodemographic patterns of and barriers to use of the ECP. Study Design: A cross-sectional study, using a computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) survey conducted with a national random sample of 632 Australian women aged 16-35 years. Results: Most women had heard of the ECP (95%) and 26% had used ..