Characteristics of women who sought emergency contraception at a university-based women's health clinic

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify unique characteristics for seeking emergency contraception (EC) among sexually active unmarried women who attended a university-based women's health clinic (WHC). Study Design: Three hundred nine consecutive women who attended the women's health clinic for 3 months of the 2006 spring semester completed an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. Fisher exact and Student t tests were used to assess bivariate associations, and step-wise regression was used to determine independent associations. Results: Women who requested EC were more likely to have previously used EC (P < .001), to have had unprotected sex in the past 6 months (P < .001), to have experienced an unintended pregnancy in the past year (P = .009), and to perceive the need for EC use in the next 3 months (P < .001) but were less likely to use hormonal contraception or an intrauterine device (P < .001). Conclusion: Our findings support the need for increased education that would include the use of and access to effective primary contraceptive methods in conjunction with EC awareness.