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Contraceptive use and barriers to access among newly arrested women. Journal of correctional health care : the official journal of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care Larochelle, F., Castro, C., Goldenson, J., Tulsky, J. P., Cohan, D. L., Blumenthal, P. D., Sufrin, C. B. 2012; 18 (2): 111-9

Abstract

Incarcerated women report high rates of prior unintended pregnancies as well as low contraceptive use. Because jail could be a site of contraception care, this study aimed to assess women's access to contraception prior to their arrest. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 228 reproductive-aged, nonpregnant women arrested in San Francisco. Twenty-one percent were currently using contraception. More than half (61%) had not used contraception in the last year, yet 11% wanted to have used it. Women in this latter subset reported greater difficulty with payment, finding a clinic, and transportation compared to women who had used contraception. In addition, 60% of all women in the sample would accept contraception if offered to them in jail. Thus, jail is a potentially important and acceptable point of access to contraception, which can circumvent some preincarceration logistical barriers.

View details for DOI 10.1177/1078345811435476

View details for PubMedID 22419640