The Quick Start Contraception Initiation Method during the 6-week postpartum visit: an efficacious way to improve contraception in Federally Qualified Health Centers

BackgroundAbout half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, and many start soon after a previous delivery. Our aim was to determine if the implementation of the Quick Start Contraception Initiation Method during the 6-week postpartum evaluation could improve the delivery of contraception.Study designThe medical records of 979 patients seen for their 6-week postpartum visit at our urban Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) between July 2004 and June 2006 were reviewed. The patients were distributed into two groups defined by evaluations performed prior to or after the implementation of the new contraception initiation method. Summary statistics and differences in the proportions were calculated. A probability of < .05 was considered significant.ResultsThe Quick Start Contraception Initiation Method was implemented in July 2005. Five-hundred and sixteen patients were in Group 1, and 463 patients were in Group 2. Demographic variables were similar among groups. Contraception delivery rate was 50% in Group 1 and 72% in Group 2 (p<.05). Eighty percent of patients in Group 1 and 76% of those in Group 2 requested contraception, and 26% of Group 1 and 3% of Group 2 did not receive it. The improvement in dispensing contraception was most noticeable among teenagers.ConclusionThese findings suggest that the Quick Start Contraception Initiation Method at the time of the 6-week postpartum evaluation improves the delivery of contraception in FQHCs.