Should Oral Contraceptives Be Sold Without a Prescription? An Analysis of Women’s Risk and Benefit Perceptions Regarding Nonprescription Birth Control Pills

Abstract

Despite expert opinions favoring a switch of oral contracepwho were surveyed, 37% favored the acquisition of OCs with-tives (OCs) from prescription to over-the-counter (OTC) staout a prescription. Women associated the OTC system for obtus, limited empirical evidence currently exists for indicating taining OCs with increased likelihood of adverse medical a consumer preference for nonprescription OCs. The objec-consequences and the prescription-only system with an intive of this study was to measure perceptions of women re-creased likelihood of pregnancy avoidance. Women who pregarding nonprescription OCs and to assess their preference ferred nonprescription pills reported more favorable attifor acquiring OCs without a prescription. A cross-sectional tudes toward their use and stronger intentions to buy them survey research design employing a combination of mail and without a prescription. Perceptions of OC benefits seem to telephone survey methodologies was used to measure per-play a more significant role in decisions to favor nonprescripceptions, beliefs, and attitudes of a randomly selected sample tion pills than the perceptions of OC risks for those women of university women (N = 500) regarding the consequences of who preferred OTC pills. Currently, the support for nonpre-using OCs with and without a prescription. Of the women scription OCs among women is only moderate.

Keywords

Oral contraceptives birth control pills nonprescription OTC attitudes

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