Extended-use oral contraceptives and medically induced amenorrhea: attitudes, knowledge and prescribing habits of physicians

BackgroundThe study was conducted to determine whether geographic location, primary specialty, attitudes and knowledge influence the prescribing habits of physicians regarding extended-use oral contraceptives (OC) and medically induced amenorrhea.Study DesignPractice characteristics, contraceptive prescription habits, menstrual cycle physiology knowledge and attitudes about medically induced amenorrhea of Oregon obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN) and family medicine physicians were assessed using either a cross-sectional postal or electronic mail survey. Attitudes were assessed using a series of Likert-style questions; multiple-choice responses were used to evaluate knowledge and prescribing habits.ResultsOf the 713 physicians in the sample (email 575, paper 138), 233 returned the survey, for an overall response rate of 32.7%. Over 90% (211/233) of respondents prescribed OCs; of these, 73.9% (155/211) stated that they prescribed extended-use OCs either often (23.5%) or sometimes (50.5%). Without adjusting for other factors, physicians reporting an OBGYN specialty (odds ratio [OR] 8.02, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.40–18.91) or an urban practice location (OR 2.75, 95% CI: 1.42–5.30) were more likely to report prescribing extended-use OCs. However, after adjusting for other factors, attitude was the only factor which remained significantly associated with prescribing (OR 1.85, 95% CI 1.41–2.42).ConclusionPhysicians' attitudes regarding medically induced amenorrhea influence the use of extended-cycle OC more than any other characteristic.