Research Lead: Cynthia J. Mollen, MD, MSCE
Sponsored By: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Foerderer Murray Award, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Dates: July 2006- June 2008
Background
Unintended teenage pregnancy is a major public health issue and knowledge gaps and lack of access hinder the use of contraception by adolescents. Many adolescents seek relatively anonymous treatment in emergency departments, which may be the usual source of care for some female adolescents. There is currently little research on the use of the emergency department as a potential site for interventions addressing adolescent contraception use. This project aims to explore the attitudes of urban minority adolescent girls about emergency department-based interventions addressing emergency contraceptive pill use.
Aims
- Assess adolescent support for learning about contraception during emergency department visits.
- Explore whether adolescent girls favor a particular delivery modality for the intervention.
Methods
Study Design: In-depth semi-structured interviews
Population: 30 healthy, urban-dwelling, English-speaking 15- to 19-year-old African American women seeking care in a children’s hospital emergency department
Progress
Findings from this study have appeared in:
- Mollen CJ, Barg FK, Hayes KL, Gotcsik M, Blades NM, Schwarz DF. Adolescent input for designing an emergency department-based intervention about emergency contraception: results from an in-depth interview study. Ped Emerg Care. 2009 Oct;25(10):625-628.
