Worldwide, concern about side effects and health risks is a key barrier to contraception use. Among women with an unmet contraceptive need in Latin America and the Caribbean, 35% reported contraception nonuse because of these concerns. These concerns often involve myths about contraception safety. Debunking these myths can be difficult as people have cognitive functions ...Read more >

As an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa, my research program is dedicated to conducting policy relevant and action- and intervention-oriented research on comprehensive reproductive health issues. My research includes multi-methods social science research and health policy analysis and I work at the local, provincial, national, and international ...Read more >

In 2012, the District of Columbia (DC) passed a law authorizing the Boards of Pharmacy and Medicine to develop regulations allowing pharmacists, through collaborative practice agreements with healthcare providers, to prescribe hormonal birth control. Advocates for Youth played a central role in developing and promoting this law, with the goal of increasing contraceptive access among ...Read more >

The etonogestrel (ENG) contraceptive implant is one of the most effective methods and US usage is increasing. We recently demonstrated that concomitant use of the ENG implant and carbamazepine, a known cytochrome P-450 enzyme inducer, causes significant decreases in serum ENG levels with most (80%) to below the level needed for ovulatory suppression (

Background: Oportunidades is a large conditional cash transfer (CCT) program in Mexico. This analysis sought to measure program effects on pregnancy and contraceptive use among young rural women beyond the effects of education. Methods: We used three waves of the ENADID, a population-based survey, to describe trends in outcomes and education among women 15 to ...Read more >

Our team’s goal is to strengthen human resources for abortion care. Outside of abortion, there is extensive literature documenting need for supportive interventions for workers in helping professions. Abortion providers face highly unique stresses, including being targets of stigma, violence, harassment, and restrictive legislation. To date, the focus of human resources for abortion care has ...Read more >

Americans have an “undermet” need for contraception: While most have access to modern methods, not all use a method that may be ideal for their particular life circumstance, resulting in substantial numbers of unintended pregnancies. The use of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC), such as IUDs and implants, has been identified as one potentially effective way ...Read more >

Male partner resistance to family planning has been extensively cited as an obstacle to female contraceptive use in sub-Saharan Africa. Scholars emphasize that gender relations cause men to resist family planning and call for the incorporation of male gender norms into sexual and reproductive health programs, however a focus on exploring which specific norms of ...Read more >

Objectives: Since abortion laws were liberalized in Western Europe, conscientious objection (CO) to abortion has become increasingly contentious. The objectives of this study were to assess the efficacy and acceptability of national policies that attempt to enable both CO and access to legal abortion services. Do their regulations effectively permit CO while still ensuring that ...Read more >

Objectives: Increased use of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) could significantly reduce unintended pregnancies, but less than 10% of US women currently use IUDs or implants. A critically understudied aspect of LARC methods and contraception more generally is their sexual acceptability, or their effects on women’s sexuality, which could influence continuation rates and marketing efforts. Methods: ...Read more >