Knowledge attitudes and intentions of American women regarding the hormonal implant.

In the US almost 50% of the 1669 women 20-37 years old who participated in the 1991 National Survey of Women had heard of the hormonal contraceptive implant. White women educated women working women women making more than $15000/year and women not on public assistance had higher awareness levels of the implant than their counterparts. An analysis of the 724 women with awareness of the implant was conducted. Most of these women knew that the implant is inserted under the skin (97.1%) and effective at preventing pregnancy (86.3%). A considerable percentage of women did not know its effectiveness (28%) its reversibility (35%) and the speed with which fecundity returns after implant removal (70%). The women who had the highest knowledge were white educated and nulliparous or primiparous. Women who wanted children and those from the West and Northeast were also more knowledgeable about the implant than their counterparts. Just 33% of the 724 women would use the implant. Women who were most inclined to use the implant in the future were young (20-24 years 40.4% vs. about 30.3%; p 2; p < .001 and < .05 respectively) childbearing intentions (OR = 1.42; p < .05) and the contraceptive method currently being used (OR = 1.85 for no method and 1.82 coital methods other than condom; p < .05 and < .01 respectively).