Differences in contraceptive use between Spanish female healthcare providers and Spanish women in the general population aged 23 to 49 years: the HABITS Study

Abstract

Objective To compare the contraceptive modalities used in the general female population with those of female healthcare providers (HCPs) in Spain.

Methods A nationwide survey of a representative sample of Spanish women and female Spanish HCPs aged 23 to 49 years (total sample size: 3200).

Results The condom was the most widely used contraceptive method in both groups (30% and 23% in the general population and among HCPs, respectively). The reasons cited for relying on this method were ease of use (19% and 13%, respectively; p = 0.2), effectiveness (16% and 22%, respectively; p = 0.2), absence of side effects (14% and 22%, respectively; p = 0.1), and fear of side effects associated with oral contraception (13% and 2%, respectively; p < 0.0001). After the condom, oral contraceptives, the intrauterine device and the vaginal ring were the most widely used methods among HCPs (13% each).

Conclusions The spectrum of contraceptive methods used by female HCPs differs from that of women in the general Spanish population. HCPs opt more often for long-acting reversible contraceptives because of their effectiveness and safety whereas women in the general population rely more frequently on the condom and surgical methods.

Keywords:

• Contraceptive use
• Epidemiology
• Healthcare providers
• Long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC)
• Spain
• Survey

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The questionnaire was designed by the authors in collaboration with AMBER, the company responsible for the fieldwork. Editorial assistance was provided by Dr Greg Morley of Pharmwrite SL. Mr Alejandro Predromingo of Bio-Estadística Consultora, Madrid reviewed the statistical analyses.

Declaration of interest: IL is a member of International Advisory Boards of MSD and TEVA; he has received fees for speaking at symposia sponsored by Bayer, MSD, Teva, and HRA Pharma. EPC belongs to the Advisory board of TEVA España and has received fees for speaking at symposia sponsored by Bayer, MSD, Teva, Grunenthal, Janssen, HRA-Pharma and Effik. MSD did not intervene in the design of the survey, the analysis of the results, or the drafting of the manuscript. The authors alone are responsible for the content and the writing of this paper.

MSD, Spain, funded the study, and defrayed the costs of the statistical analysis and the linguistic editing of the original draft of the manuscript.