Are there unmet needs in contraceptive counselling and choice?
TANCO = Thinking About Needs in COntraception

More need for contraceptive counselling than care providers estimate

International research with 6027 women shows that health care providers do not always correctly assess women's need for additional contraceptive counselling.

By means of surveys, women from 11 countries were asked about their knowledge of contraception, satisfaction and need for more information from health care providers. In general, women were satisfied with the method of contraception they used. Satisfaction with long-acting methods of contraception, such as the IUD or implanted rod, was higher than with short-acting methods of contraception.

Gynaecologists, general practitioners and obstetricians were asked to assess the interests and needs of their patients in the area of contraceptive counselling. The results showed that this interest was often underestimated. For instance, they thought that only 38% of women would be interested in additional counselling on long-term contraceptive methods. As many as 73% of the women indicated that they would consider a long-term contraceptive method if they had received more information about it.

Therefore, the researchers argue that there are opportunities for improved counselling and debunking of myths surrounding long-term contraception to increase women's knowledge and satisfaction with their choice of contraception.

Reference:

Merki-Feld, G. S., Caetano, C., Porz, T. C., & Bitzer, J. (2018). Are there unmet needs in contraceptive counselling and choice? Findings of the European TANCO Study. European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care, 23(3), 183-193. https://doi.org/10.1080/13625187.2018.1465546