Use of prescribed contraception in Northern Ireland 2010-2016

Joanne Given; Ann Gray; Helen Dolk

doi:10.1080/13625187.2020.1723539

Use of prescribed contraception in Northern Ireland 2010-2016

Joanne Given, Ann Gray, Helen Dolk

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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293 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the use of prescribed contraceptives in Northern Ireland (NI) and how this varies with a woman’s age, the deprivation in the area in which she lives and characteristics of her general practice (GP).

Method: A population-based cohort study was conducted including 560,074 females, aged 12–49 registered with a GP (2010–2016) contributing 3,255,500 woman-years of follow-up. Dispensed contraceptive prescriptions were linked to demographic details.

Results: A contraceptive prescription was dispensed in 26.2% of woman-years with women aged 20–24 most likely to have a contraceptive dispensed (45.7% of woman-years). After adjusting for patient and other practice characteristics, practices in the least deprived quintile prescribed 6% more contraception than those in the most deprived quintile. The combined oral contraceptives (16.6% of woman-years) and progesterone only pill (8.0% of woman-years) were the most commonly dispensed methods. Patient and practice level characteristics were found to be related to the specific contraceptive methods dispensed which also changed during the time frame of the study.

Conclusions: This is the first population-based assessment of contraceptive prescription in NI. It is useful for health service planning and to inform broader reproductive policy debates. The impact of practice area-based deprivation, above that of the woman’s residence, on contraceptive dispensing is a new finding that deserves more exploration.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	106-113
Number of pages	8
Journal	The European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care
Volume	25
Issue number	2
Early online date	18 Feb 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/13625187.2020.1723539
Publication status	Published (in print/issue) - 3 Mar 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [grant number ESL/L007509/1] (Administrative Data Research Centre?Northern Ireland) and the European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health [grant number P-2017-B-F]. The authors would like to acknowledge the help provided by the staff of the Honest Broker Service (HBS) within the Business Services Organisation Northern Ireland (BSO). The HBS is funded by the BSO and the Department of Health (DOH). The authors alone are responsible for the interpretation of the data and any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the BSO.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, © 2020 The European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health.

Keywords

Contraception
medication utilisation
prescription database
administrative data
data linkage
population-based cohort

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1080/13625187.2020.1723539

Prescribed_contraception_in_NI_Accepted_versionAuthor Accepted Manuscript, 471 KB

Cite this

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title = "Use of prescribed contraception in Northern Ireland 2010-2016",

abstract = "Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the use of prescribed contraceptives in Northern Ireland (NI) and how this varies with a woman{\textquoteright}s age, the deprivation in the area in which she lives and characteristics of her general practice (GP). Method: A population-based cohort study was conducted including 560,074 females, aged 12–49 registered with a GP (2010–2016) contributing 3,255,500 woman-years of follow-up. Dispensed contraceptive prescriptions were linked to demographic details. Results: A contraceptive prescription was dispensed in 26.2% of woman-years with women aged 20–24 most likely to have a contraceptive dispensed (45.7% of woman-years). After adjusting for patient and other practice characteristics, practices in the least deprived quintile prescribed 6% more contraception than those in the most deprived quintile. The combined oral contraceptives (16.6% of woman-years) and progesterone only pill (8.0% of woman-years) were the most commonly dispensed methods. Patient and practice level characteristics were found to be related to the specific contraceptive methods dispensed which also changed during the time frame of the study. Conclusions: This is the first population-based assessment of contraceptive prescription in NI. It is useful for health service planning and to inform broader reproductive policy debates. The impact of practice area-based deprivation, above that of the woman{\textquoteright}s residence, on contraceptive dispensing is a new finding that deserves more exploration.",

keywords = "Contraception, medication utilisation, prescription database, administrative data, data linkage, population-based cohort",

author = "Joanne Given and Ann Gray and Helen Dolk",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [grant number ESL/L007509/1] (Administrative Data Research Centre?Northern Ireland) and the European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health [grant number P-2017-B-F]. The authors would like to acknowledge the help provided by the staff of the Honest Broker Service (HBS) within the Business Services Organisation Northern Ireland (BSO). The HBS is funded by the BSO and the Department of Health (DOH). The authors alone are responsible for the interpretation of the data and any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the BSO. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020, {\textcopyright} 2020 The European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health.",

year = "2020",

month = mar,

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doi = "10.1080/13625187.2020.1723539",

language = "English",

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T1 - Use of prescribed contraception in Northern Ireland 2010-2016

AU - Given, Joanne

AU - Gray, Ann

AU - Dolk, Helen

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [grant number ESL/L007509/1] (Administrative Data Research Centre?Northern Ireland) and the European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health [grant number P-2017-B-F]. The authors would like to acknowledge the help provided by the staff of the Honest Broker Service (HBS) within the Business Services Organisation Northern Ireland (BSO). The HBS is funded by the BSO and the Department of Health (DOH). The authors alone are responsible for the interpretation of the data and any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the BSO. Publisher Copyright: © 2020, © 2020 The European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health.

PY - 2020/3/3

Y1 - 2020/3/3

N2 - Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the use of prescribed contraceptives in Northern Ireland (NI) and how this varies with a woman’s age, the deprivation in the area in which she lives and characteristics of her general practice (GP). Method: A population-based cohort study was conducted including 560,074 females, aged 12–49 registered with a GP (2010–2016) contributing 3,255,500 woman-years of follow-up. Dispensed contraceptive prescriptions were linked to demographic details. Results: A contraceptive prescription was dispensed in 26.2% of woman-years with women aged 20–24 most likely to have a contraceptive dispensed (45.7% of woman-years). After adjusting for patient and other practice characteristics, practices in the least deprived quintile prescribed 6% more contraception than those in the most deprived quintile. The combined oral contraceptives (16.6% of woman-years) and progesterone only pill (8.0% of woman-years) were the most commonly dispensed methods. Patient and practice level characteristics were found to be related to the specific contraceptive methods dispensed which also changed during the time frame of the study. Conclusions: This is the first population-based assessment of contraceptive prescription in NI. It is useful for health service planning and to inform broader reproductive policy debates. The impact of practice area-based deprivation, above that of the woman’s residence, on contraceptive dispensing is a new finding that deserves more exploration.

AB - Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the use of prescribed contraceptives in Northern Ireland (NI) and how this varies with a woman’s age, the deprivation in the area in which she lives and characteristics of her general practice (GP). Method: A population-based cohort study was conducted including 560,074 females, aged 12–49 registered with a GP (2010–2016) contributing 3,255,500 woman-years of follow-up. Dispensed contraceptive prescriptions were linked to demographic details. Results: A contraceptive prescription was dispensed in 26.2% of woman-years with women aged 20–24 most likely to have a contraceptive dispensed (45.7% of woman-years). After adjusting for patient and other practice characteristics, practices in the least deprived quintile prescribed 6% more contraception than those in the most deprived quintile. The combined oral contraceptives (16.6% of woman-years) and progesterone only pill (8.0% of woman-years) were the most commonly dispensed methods. Patient and practice level characteristics were found to be related to the specific contraceptive methods dispensed which also changed during the time frame of the study. Conclusions: This is the first population-based assessment of contraceptive prescription in NI. It is useful for health service planning and to inform broader reproductive policy debates. The impact of practice area-based deprivation, above that of the woman’s residence, on contraceptive dispensing is a new finding that deserves more exploration.

KW - Contraception

KW - medication utilisation

KW - prescription database

KW - administrative data

KW - data linkage

KW - population-based cohort

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DO - 10.1080/13625187.2020.1723539

M3 - Article

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SN - 1362-5187

VL - 25

SP - 106

EP - 113

JO - The European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care

JF - The European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care

IS - 2

ER -

Use of prescribed contraception in Northern Ireland 2010-2016

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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Fingerprint

Discussion on use of prescribed contraceptives in NI and issues relating to reproductive rights