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AUTHOR AFFILIATION: |
School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-3219,
USA. efrank@fpm.eushc.org |
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ABSTRACT: |
OBJECTIVE: Little is known about female physicians' personal
contraceptive use, and such usage could influence their prescribing
patterns. METHODS: We used data from the Women Physicians' Health Study,
a large (n = 4501) national study, administered in 1993-1994, on
characteristics of female physicians in the United States. RESULTS:
These female physicians (ages 30-44 years) were more likely to use
contraception than women in the general population (ages 15-44 years);
this was true even when the physicians were compared with only other
women of high socioeconomic status and when stratified by ethnicity,
age, and number of children. Physicians were also more likely to use
intrauterine devices, diaphragms, or condoms, and less likely to use
female or male sterilization than were other women. Younger female
physicians were especially unlikely to use permanent methods,
particularly when compared with their age-matched counterparts in the
general population. One fifth of contracepting physicians used more than
one type of contraceptive; the most frequently used combination was
spermicide with a barrier method. CONCLUSION: Female physicians
contracept differently than do women in the general population, in ways
consistent with delaying and reducing total fertility. Physicians'
personal characteristics have been shown to influence their patient
counseling practices, including their contraception-related attitudes
and practices. Although female physicians' clinical advice might differ
from their personal practices, as women physicians become more
prevalent, their contraceptive choices could influence those of their
patients. |
