A study conducted in Jamaica and Barbados has revealed that several health care providers have at some point refused to provide emergency contraception to women who were in need of it.

According to the study, titled Jamaican and Barbadian Health Care Providers' Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Regarding Emergency Contraceptive Pills, conducted by Eileen A. Yam et al of Population Council, almost half of more than 400 health care providers surveyed in the two islands have at some point refused to provide the method to women seeking it.

The reasons the survey said they gave for refusing the method to eligible women included the negative attitudes towards the method and lack of supplies.

Negative perception

The researcher found that nearly all surveyed providers had heard of the method, a majority of the health care providers mistakenly believed there were medical reasons not to dispense emergency contraception to some patients, such as women with thromboembolic disease or liver disease, breastfeeding women and smokers older than 35, though use of the method would not pose a risk to such women.

The survey, which was conducted between 2004 and 2006, also revealed that two out of five Jamaican and one in four Barbadian providers had refused a woman access to the method because she had recently used it, though there is no medical evidence that women should not use emergency contraception as often as necessary.

"Given that more than 30 per cent of providers cited lack of availability as a reason for having refused to provide emergency contraception to women, inadequate supplies in pharmacies and clinics may be restricting Caribbean women's timely access to the method," said the study.

The researchers said, though recent studies suggest that emergency contraception can prevent pregnancy for up to 120 hours after intercourse, the percentage of Jamaican and Barbadian providers who knew this was extremely low.

Twenty-nine per cent of providers in Barbados and 13 per cent in Jamaica believed the method was effective only within 24 hours of intercourse. These findings suggest that providers may be denying access to women they mistakenly believe cannot benefit from the method.

More than half of health care providers surveyed held negative attitudes about emergency contraception, such as the belief that the method encourages sexual risk-taking and that access to the method leads to an increase in sexually transmitted infections.

In Jamaica, the study said, providers tended to be more accepting of emergency contraception, perhaps because Jamaica has offered it without a prescription since 2003.