Patient understanding and use of oral contraceptive pills in a southern public health family planning clinic

OBJECTIVE: To assess patient understanding and use of oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) and determine if these are associated with literacy. METHODS: Four hundred OCP users from a southern public health family planning clinic were orally tested post visit for literacy, demographics, contraceptive knowledge, OCP use, side effects, and adherence. RESULTS: Patients were predominately African American (86%); 78% had completed high school and 42% read below a 9th grade level. Most (94%) understood what to do when they missed one pill, yet few knew the correct action to take after missing two or three pills (19% and 3% respectively); 33% reported missing one or more pills in the past 2 weeks. Literacy was not associated with OCP use, knowledge, or adherence. CONCLUSION: Patients of all literacy levels had limited understanding of OCP side effects and what to do about multiple missed pills. This puts them at risk for misuse.