Contraceptive self-care: Demand and preferences for self-administered DMPA-SC among patients attending safety net clinics in the southeastern US
Contraception
Awarded 2022
In their hands: Exploring the potential of self-administered injectable contraception
Katie Baker, DrPH, MPH
East Tennessee State University
$49,651

Survey data provide evidence that US patients report interest in self-administration of DMPA-SC, with current DMPA users exhibiting greater interest than past- or never-users. Feasibility studies show family planning patients, including adolescents, can successfully self-inject DMPA-SC after being trained and that self-injecting patients report similar levels of satisfaction to patients receiving provider-administered injections. Given this promising evidence, further research into demand for self-administered DMPA-SC is warranted as is research into patient preferences for self-injection training, storage and disposal of injection supplies, and injection calendars and reminders. The research proposed here will explore demand and preferences for self-administered DMPA-SC among a patient population receiving care from safety-net clinics including local health departments and federally qualified health centers in two southeastern states. We are proposing a series of interconnected and sequential community-based strategies to answer our research questions: 1) assemble a community advisory board; 2) develop and pretest a survey using cognitive interviewing techniques; 3) administer the survey to DMPA-users and non-users from an existing panel; 4) analyze survey responses and share results with the community advisory board and during the 2022 Society of Family Planning annual meeting; 5) incorporate feedback from these audiences into a report for stakeholders; and 6) publish final results. Given that the prevalence of DMPA use in this patient population is substantially higher than national and state-level estimates, study findings have the potential to dramatically impact clinical practice and reproductive health services delivery in safety net clinic contexts now and in the future.