Contraceptive Technology Update – September 1, 2024

Many People Still Report Experiencing Reproductive Counseling Coercion

Subtle and more overt acts of reproductive counseling coercion still occur in the United States, affecting more than two in five women in their lifetime, research shows.

Women Who Want Immediate Postpartum LARC Face Various Barriers

Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) barriers include its higher cost and the need for in-clinic/office insertion and removal.

Levonorgestrel Emergency Contraception Works Well — Even if Taken Before Sex

A new study using a mathematical model finds that an oral dose of 1.5 mg levonorgestrel emergency contraceptive (LNG-EC) is safe and largely effective both when taken shortly before sexual intercourse and shortly after — so long as the woman is not ovulating.

NYC School-Based Health Centers Successfully Provide LARC to Students

School-based health centers can offer long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) care to adolescents and have positive results regarding LARC initiation and six-month continuation, new research shows.

Sexual Health Education Is Lacking for Gender Diverse Youth

Young people who are gender diverse lack adequate educational resources in sexual health education, and providers often need to fill in the information gaps.

LGBTQ+ Community Often Overlooked in Reproductive Health Research

Contraceptive Technology Update (CTU) asked Melissa Ertl, PhD, assistant professor of Psychology at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in Minneapolis, about her new research paper on health equity and research with people in the LGBTQ+ community.

Message Needs to Get Out that PrEP Is Not Only for Cisgender Men

Cisgender women sometimes are left out of the provider-patient conversations when it comes to discussing their risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and how pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) can make them safer, a new paper finds.

Mobile STI Testing Strategy Can Reach People in Rural Areas and Build Trust in Communities

The resurgence of some sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in recent years is partly because of the lack of resources to provide routine STI testing and treatment in rural areas, where residents may live an hour or two away from the nearest public health department that can offer daily STI services.

Report Shows Problem of Rising Rates of Syphilis Among Service Members

A new report from the Military Health System shows a disturbing trend of increasing rates of syphilis among people serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, including the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.