The U.S. Healthy People 2020 initiative aims to improve pregnancy planning and increase access to the full range of contraceptive methods. Utah presents unique barriers to contraceptive services, including limited public funding and geographical regions with limited family planning services. The University of Utah Health Division of Family Planning, in partnership with Planned Parenthood of Utah, conducted a prospective cohort study (HER Salt Lake) that provided 7,402 individuals in Salt Lake County with same-day, no-cost contraception and the ability to change or discontinue their contraceptive method without cost over three years.
Led by U of U Health investigator David Turok, MD, the study found that removing cost barriers resulted in a significant shift to more effective contraceptive methods, including intrauterine devices and other implantable devices. This work formed the foundation for a statewide contraceptive initiative called Family Planning Elevated which has already provided no-cost contraception to 13,000 people at 28 participating clinics. Findings from HER Salt Lake and Family Planning Elevated will continue to inform future clinical care, policies, and translational research.
References:
Contraceptive method use during the community-wide HER Salt Lake Contraceptive Initiative. Sanders JN, Myers K, Gawron LM, Simmons RG, Turok DK. Am J Public Health. 2018 Apr;108(4):550-556.
Evaluating a longitudinal cohort of clinics engaging in the Family Planning Elevated Contraceptive Access Program (FPE CAP): study protocol of a comparative interrupted time series analysis. Simmons R, Myers K, Gero A, Sanders JN, Quade C, Mulholland M, Turok DK. JMIR Res Protoc. 2020 Oct 16;9(10):e18308.
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