Advance notice of contraceptive availability at surgical abortion: a pilot randomised controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundWith advance notice about the availability and effectiveness of contraceptive methods, abortion patients have more time and information for decision-making. We assessed the impact of an informational telephone call prior to the surgical abortion visit on patient contraceptive knowledge.MethodsThis was a pilot randomised controlled trial. Prior to their abortion visit, participants were randomised to the intervention message, a standardised notification about the availability, effectiveness and safety of long-acting (LARC) and short-acting reversible contraception (SARC) on the day of the abortion, or to the control message, a reiteration of appointment logistics without information about contraception. At the visit, participants completed a pre-procedure survey to assess contraceptive knowledge and usefulness of the intervention. The primary outcome was knowledge of LARC availability immediately after surgical abortion. A secondary outcome was contraceptive method uptake.ResultsWe enrolled 234 subjects. The pre-visit telephone notification improved knowledge that LARC is available immediately after surgical abortion (71.3% vs 50.9%, P<0.01). Participants in both study arms found the telephone notifications useful. Post-abortion contraceptive method choice did not differ between study arms.ConclusionsAdvance notice about contraception was acceptable to surgical abortion patients and improved their contraceptive knowledge.Trial registration numberNCT02836561.