Contraceptive knowledge and use following structured counseling for women seeking walk-in pregnancy testing or emergency contraception

Women seeking walk-in pregnancy testing (WIP) and emergency contraception (EC) are at high risk for unintended pregnancy. We evaluated the effect of structured contraceptive counseling on contraceptive knowledge and use 3 months after women sought WIP or EC from a Title X clinic in Pittsburgh. Women aged 15-45 who sought WIP or EC and wanted to avoid pregnancy for at least 6 months were asked to complete a telephone survey three months after their clinic visit. We compared responses from patients seen before (Jan-Aug 2011) and after the clinic began offering brief structured counseling about highly effective reversible contraceptives to all women seeking EC or WIP (Aug 2011-May 2013). Five hundred ten women enrolled in the study; 168 prior to and 342 following implementation of the counseling intervention. After the introduction of structured counseling, more women had accurate knowledge of the relative effectiveness of intrauterine contraception (IUC) (40% vs 11%, p