Attitudes and Beliefs About Emergency Contraception Among Patients at Academic Family Medicine Clinics

Article Figures & Data

Table 1.

Demographic Characteristics of Survey Respondents (N = 178)

Characteristic	No. (%) of Respondents
Age, years
18–25	38 (21.3)
26–35	64 (36.0)
36–45	61 (34.3)
46–50	15 (8.4)
Race
Black	73 (41.0)
White	96 (53.9)
Other	9 (5.1)
Education level
High school graduate or less	56 (31.4)
Some college	64 (36.0)
College graduate or more	58 (32.6)
Yearly income
<$25,000	87 (48.9)
$25,000–$40,000	54 (30.3)
>$40,000	37 (20.8)
Strength of religious beliefs
Very strong	86 (48.3)
Moderate	68 (38.2)
Little or none	24 (13.5)

Table 2.

Respondents’ Answers to Questions on Pregnancy and Emergency Contraception (N = 178)

Question	No. (%) of Respondents
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% because of rounding. EC = emergency contraception.
Conception is the point when …
Sperm and egg join	144 (81)
Implantation occurs	30 (17)
The heart starts beating	4 (2)
Pregnancy begins when …
Sperm and egg join	84 (47)
Implantation occurs	78 (44)
The heart starts beating	14 (8)
Unsure	2 (1)
Life begins when …
Sperm and egg join	54 (30)
Implantation occurs	22 (12)
The heart starts beating	84 (47)
Birth occurs	18 (10)
Emergency contraception works …
Before sperm and egg join	43 (24)
Before implantation occurs	64 (36)
Before heart starts beating	11 (6)
Unsure	60 (34)
I would only use EC if it works …
Before sperm and egg join	36 (20)
Before implantation occurs	32 (18)
Before heart starts beating	18 (10)
Does not matter when	32 (18)
Would never use	20 (11)
Unsure	40 (22)
I would use EC only if my doctor told me …
It would not cause an abortion	60 (34)
There was a small chance it could cause an abortion	6 (3)
Regardless of what my doctor said	27 (15)
Would never use	11 (6)
Unsure	74 (42)

Table 3.

Logistic Regression Analysis of Beliefs Regarding Beginning of Life and Emergency Contraception

Characteristic	Life Begins When Egg and Sperm Join Odds Ratio (95% CI)	EC Works Before Egg and Sperm Join Odds Ratio (95% CI)
EC = emergency contraception; CI = confidence interval.
Age, years
18–25	1.04 (0.20–5.50)	5.79 (1.20–27.8)
26–35	1.16 (0.26–5.20)	3.40 (0.96–12.1)
36–45	1.75 (0.39–7.74)	2.24 (0.67–7.48)
46–50	1.00	1.00
Race
Black	1.51 (0.31–7.42)	0.57 (0.08–4.24)
White	1.14 (0.23–5.58)	1.41 (0.18–11.2)
Other	1.00	1.00
Education
High school graduate or lower	1.06 (0.41–2.77)	1.87 (0.71–4.89)
Some college	1.16 (0.46–2.95)	2.67 (0.92–7.78)
College graduate or more	1.00	1.00
Yearly income
<$25,000	7.73 (2.71–22.0)	0.41 (0.12–1.43)
$25,000–$40,000	4.48 (1.57–12.9)	0.39 (0.12–1.24)
>$40,000	1.00	1.00
Strength of religious beliefs
Very strong	0.60 (0.18–1.94)	0.50 (0.11–2.40)
Moderate	1.85 (0.59–5.77)	0.78 (0.17–3.50)
Little or none	1.00	1.00