The Unwillingness of Future U.S. Physicians to Limit Adolescent Prevention Counseling to Abstinence-Only Messages

ObjectivesOpen family planning discussions are essential, though until very recently curtailed in the U.S., yet no study has evaluated future physicians' willingness to curtail their counseling.DesignSenior medical students at 16 U.S. schools (n=2316, response rate=80.3%) were surveyed on their agreement with: “I am willing to limit the sexually transmissible disease (STD) prevention counseling I do for unmarried teens to ‘abstinence-only’ messages.”ResultsAmong seniors, <10% agreed to limit their counseling for unmarried teens to “abstinence-only” messages. Male gender, stronger religious identity, and more conservatism were most strongly associated with willingness to limit counseling.ConclusionsMost senior U.S. medical students were not willing to limit the STD prevention counseling they provide. As the new U.S. (and other) governments re-evaluate policies, it is wise that they are reconsidering policies that ran counter to the beliefs of its future physician workforce.