A new Monash study has shown a gap in effective contraceptive care for rural and regional teenagers.
A newly released study from Monash University’s SPHERE Centre of Research Excellence has shown a need for greater support in teenage contraception.
It found a gap in the level of contraceptive support for teenagers in rural and regional areas and comparative needs were not being met.
The study, published in the Australian Journal of Primary Health, evaluated approaches to contraceptive counselling, the provision of contraception information to teenagers and how general practice was assisting with the issue currently.
Most GPs reported that higher rates of teenage pregnancy in their regions were because of limited knowledge and access to contraception, socioeconomic barriers and limited access to insertion of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs).
This study has been touted as a valuable point of direction for funding, with the over $500 million announced in February expected to assist in meeting the study’s suggested reforms.
The announced funding was pledged to assist with providing greater access to LARC insertion and was expected to save approximately 300,000 women a year up to $400 in out-of-pocket costs.
In the wake of the election, rural health was a prime topic with this recent study highlighting the diverse needs for effective rural and regional funding.
“It is important that doctors in rural areas be prioritised for LARC training,” lead author, SPHERE senior research fellow Dr Jessica Botfield told The Medical Republic.
“We know that access to LARC methods, so IUDs and implants, is particularly challenging and difficult in rural and regional areas,” Dr Botfield said.
“Our study also found that the areas in Victoria with the highest incidences of teenage pregnancy were all rural and remote areas as well, which further highlights the importance.”
However, the study also found that current methods of reaching teenagers with contraception education were not effective enough in breaking down the often-uncomfortable nature of the topic.
“We also need to address misunderstandings among GPs about the suitability of IUDs for young people, and we certainly need to train more GPs to be able to provide IUDs and implants, particularly in rural and regional areas,” Dr Botfield said.
“It’s not just a matter of having these training centres or training options. We need to support GPs in actually knowing about them and in accessing them.”
The study found that supporting informed decision-making and promoting access to all methods of contraception to teenagers required a normalisation of contraception discussion within general practice.
The limited number of practitioners trained in LARC insertion and removal was cited in the study as a barrier to the uptake of more effective methods, especially for rural medicine.
“Ensuring teenagers feel general practice is a safe place to discuss sexual and reproductive health issues was seen as important, to put them at ease and improve engagement in contraception discussions,” Dr Botfield said.
