Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate innercity adolescent females' knowledge, attitude and prevalence of use of the contraceptive sponge. A questionnaire assessing these issues was completed by 208 sexually active adolescent females. The patients ranged in age from 14-20 years (mean= 17.9); 129 (62%) Black and 79 (38%) Hispanic. Of those adolescents currently using a birth control method (159), the oral contraceptive pill was most prevalent (68.5%) and the sponge was lesst prevalent (1.2%). Only 8 girls had ever used the sponge. Overall knowledge of the sponge was limited; only 15 (7.2%) correctly answered more than half of the knowledge questions. Correct knowledge of the effectiveness of birth control methods was lowest for the sponge (20.2%) and highest for the pill (58.6%). This difference in knowledge was significantly lower for the sponge compared to other contraceptive methods, including the diaphragm, IUD, foam, condoms, rhythm and withdrawal (p=.0001). Most (87.9%) of the adolescents demonstrated a negative attitude to the sponge. These results indicate that the contraceptive sponge is poorly understood and seldom used by sexually active inner-city adolescents. We speculate that this is a result of limited information and education about the sponge, in addition to cultural and ethnic factors. Further study is needed to determine if the sponge is a viable contraceptive method for this population.
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Diaz, A., Jaffe, L. THE CONTRACEPTIVE SPONGE AND INNER-CITY ADOLESCENT FEMALES: ATTITUDES, KNOWLEDGE AND USE. Pediatr Res 21 (Suppl 4), 173 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00042
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00042