Three-Year Contraceptive Failure Rates During the HER Salt Lake Contraceptive Initiative

With person-centered contraceptive counseling and same-day method access, what are 3-year continuation and typical-use failure rates for reversible contraceptive methods?In this cohort study of 4425 contraceptive users, 96 pregnancies resulted from baseline method failure. Three-year continuation ranged from 15% (male condom) to 72% (hormonal IUD), and 3-year pregnancy rates were low across methods, including shorter-acting methods such as injection, pill, or ring.These findings suggest that removing access barriers may reduce typical-use failure rates for shorter-acting methods compared with historical estimates, supporting counseling that centers patient preference and method continuation.

Corresponding Author: Jessica N. Sanders, PhD, MSPH, ASCENT Center for Reproductive Health, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Utah, 30 Mario Capecchi Dr, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (jessica.sanders@hsc.utah.edu).

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