Higgins published in JAMA Internal Medicine

A new study co-authored by UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity Director Jenny Higgins, PhD and published in JAMA Internal Medicine examines the association of sexual satisfaction and self-reported sexual acceptability with continued contraceptive use over time.

“Association Between Patients’ Perceptions of the Sexual Acceptability of Contraceptive Methods and Continued Use Over Time” uses data from the HER Salt Lake Contraceptive Initiative, which surveyed a cohort of new contraceptive users at one, three and six month intervals to gauge whether (and how) their contraceptive methods of choice affected their sex lives.

The study found that those who reported a negative impact on their sex life were upwards of three times as likely to discontinue or switch their method compared to people who reported a positive sexual impact. And this effect on contraceptive use over time was stronger than factors more commonly considered, including changes in vaginal bleeding, physical side effects such as headaches or bloating, and psychological side effects such as changes in mood.

Read the whole study here!