(Published June 2006)

Background

Helping Your Patients Decide: Making Informed Health Choices about Hormonal Contraception

Myths and misperceptions about risks associated with hormonal contraceptives can lead women to restrict their contraceptive choices without cause. Given that a woman’s contraceptive needs are likely to vary over time, any actual or perceived restriction in choice of method can have unfortunate—and unnecessary—health and lifestyle consequences. Providing women with specific risk information that is placed in context may help them better understand the risks associated with hormonal contraceptives and allow them to make truly informed health decisions.

This issue of Clinical Proceedings^® is part of You Decide: Making Informed Health Choices about Hormonal Contraception, a larger project developed by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP) and the Planned Parenthood^® Federation of America (PPFA) to assist health care providers in counseling their patients about risk. Other program components are in development and will be available through ARHP and PPFA in 2006.

The expert advisory panel for the project includes professionals with expertise in clinical care, risk communication, statistics, health education, and contraceptive research. To develop this monograph, the panel reviewed materials from reproductive health organizations, provider organizations, and government agencies on the risks and benefits associated with hormonal contraceptives. They pulled sources from the field of statistics to provide examples relevant to providers in reproductive health. They relied on resources from the risk analysis field to understand the psychological underpinnings of risk perception.

Our sincere thanks go to the members of this diverse and very creative expert advisory committee for investing their scarce time and immense talents in this project.

Wayne C. Shields
President and CEO
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals

Vanessa E. Cullins, MD, MPH, MBA
Vice President for Medical Affairs
Planned Parenthood Federation of America