Adolescent and Young Women's Experience with the Vaginal Ring and Oral Contraceptive Pills

Study ObjectiveTo compare acceptability of the vaginal contraceptive ring to that of oral contraceptive pills.DesignRandomized, cross-over, 6-month study.SettingUrban family planning clinic for young low-income patients.ParticipantsSexually active females aged 15–21 years (n = 130).InterventionsParticipants were randomly assigned to use the vaginal ring or oral contraceptive pills for an initial study interval of three 28-day cycles, followed by three cycles of the alternate method.Main Outcome MeasuresParticipants completed surveys about method use, acceptability, and side effects at baseline, after three cycles, and after six cycles. We analyzed study data using ANOVA models for cross-over designs.ResultsWe did not detect higher compliance with the ring as compared to oral contraceptive pills (P = 0.176), although overall approval of the ring was significantly higher on several items measured, including liked using method (P = 0.015), would recommend it to friends (P = 0.012), and not as hard to remember to use method correctly (P ≤ 0.000). Participants were less worried about health risks while using the ring (P = 0.006), but reported that the ring was more likely to interfere with sex than the pill (P ≤ 0.001) and that sex partners liked the pill (P = 0.034). Most women did not report bothersome side effects with either method.ConclusionsAdolescent and young women showed favorable acceptability of the vaginal contraceptive ring compared to oral contraceptive pills.