1. Prescribing Contraception to Women with Intellectual Disabilities: General Practitioners' Attitudes and Practices.
- Author
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McCarthy, Michelle
- Subjects
ANALYSIS of variance ,CHI-squared test ,CONTRACEPTION ,INFORMED consent (Medical law) ,INTELLECTUAL disabilities ,PHYSICIANS ,POSTAL service ,RESEARCH funding ,HUMAN sexuality ,WOMEN'S health ,REPRODUCTIVE health ,QUALITATIVE research ,THEMATIC analysis ,CROSS-sectional method ,DATA analysis software - Abstract
The challenges of providing appropriate reproductive healthcare to women with intellectual disabilities are set within the context of a primary health care system. The rationale for this study was to explore the prescribing practices and attitudes of General Practitioner's (GP) when women with intellectual disabilities come to them for contraception. The data reported in this paper come from a cross-sectional postal questionnaire survey conducted with 162 GPs across two counties in England. The majority of respondents had 10 or fewer women with intellectual disabilities of child bearing age on their caseloads. The most commonly prescribed methods of contraception were the Pill (39.7%) and depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), (34.2%). The difficulties faced by GPs in determining 'best interests' are explored, as are the issues related to the women's capacity to consent to sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2011
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