Published in:
01-12-2018 | Family Planning (A Burke, Section Editor)
Factors Associated with Adolescents’ Choice to Use Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives: a Systematic Review
Published in: Current Obstetrics and Gynecology Reports | Issue 4/2018
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Purpose of Review
This review aims to update the published literature to summarize our understanding about the associated factors with adolescents’ willingness to use long-acting reversible contraceptives.
Recent Findings
Long acting reversible contraception (LARCs), specifically intrauterine devices and implants, have been successful in preventing unintended pregnancy and repeat pregnancy among adolescents. Unfortunately, many misconceptions about eligibility, fears of the insertion procedure, and health effects prevent adolescents from choosing them.
Summary
A total of 1316 articles were identified and only nine met the inclusion criteria. Included studies reported findings on 12,851 adolescents aged 12 to 19 years old, revealing many correlates like the knowledge/information about these contraceptives, age, marital status, and cultural aspects. Few articles compared the correlates of choosing intrauterine devices versus implants. All articles presented studies performed in contexts where access barriers to contraceptives were removed, including the costs. In the future, it could prove useful to develop a study that could compare types of LARCs, as well as in an exclusive adolescent population in different countries. It would also be helpful to compare adolescents’ use in low- and middle-income countries, and in different contexts with limited access to family planning services and contraceptives.