CClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT01738971Updated Aug 18, 2014Results posted

Initiating Contraception After Emergency Contraception From Pharmacy

An interventional study of rapid access and one month progestogen only pill in Contraceptive Use After Emergency Contraception, sponsored by University of Edinburgh. Completed at 1 site in United Kingdom. Open to female participants aged 16 Years to 45 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2014-08-18.

Sponsored by University of Edinburgh · Not applicable, Interventional, and Health services research

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
168
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
16 Years to 45 Years
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

Pharmacists do not provide immediate contraception to women after emergency contraception (EC); they can only give advice on local contraceptive services.

The investigators wish to establish the following 2 pharmacy- based interventions in NHS Lothian, designed to increase uptake of effective contraception as soon as possible, after EC

  1. Pharmacists would provide one packet of progestogen-only pills, giving women one month to arrange an appointment with contraceptive services.
  2. Rapid access to a family planning clinic upon presentation of the empty EC packet. Women would be seen as a 'walk-in' and contraception provided.

If feasible, these interventions could reduce unintended pregnancies.

Participating pharmacies will be randomised to provide one of the interventions, or standard care (verbal/written advice on local contraceptive services).

Women requesting EC from study pharmacies will be recruited by the research nurse/doctor to participate in the study that will involve them consenting to contact by telephone 6-8 weeks after EC by the researcher, to evaluate the interventions in terms of :

(i) determine women's experiences/ views of the interventions and control. (ii) determine if women have commenced effective contraception and if not , reasons why.

A subset of 12 women will also be invited for in-depth interview to collect more detailed qualitative data on their EC experience.

The investigators also wish to (iii) explore pharmacists views on the interventions

Data from this pilot will enable the investigators to determine whether a larger multisite study is feasible. The aims of a larger study being to determine if either of the two interventions being tested result in an increased proportion of women using effective ongoing contraception compared to the control.

Read the detailed description

The investigators propose to test 2 pharmacy based interventions to increase uptake of effective contraception after EC:

  1. Pharmacists would provide one packet of progestogen-only pills to women, so that they would have 28 days to arrange an appointment with contraceptive services to get a supply of ongoing contraception.
  2. Rapid access to a family planning clinic upon presentation of their empty(used) packet of EC. Women would be seen as a 'walk-in' (without appointment) and ongoing contraception discussed and provided.

These interventions would be compared with the status quo, i.e. pharmacists give verbal advice and written information on local contraceptive services where ongoing contraception can be accessed.

The interventions that we are testing are low cost i.e one packet of progestogen-only pills (£3 for most costly brand) plus additional consultation time with the pharmacist (estimated 20 mins@ £1 per minute), versus the staff consultation time in a family planning clinic. In the family planning clinic, women would be seen as a 'walk-in' and so this may not add costs, since staff are already present.These interventions could, if shown to be effective, offer huge costs savings to the NHS, by reducing the costs of unintended pregnancies (abortion, miscarriage, birth).

02

Conditions studied

  • Contraceptive Use After Emergency Contraception

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Keywords

  • emergency contraception
  • community pharmacy
03

In context

Emergencies

1,692 studies on the registry are indexed under Emergencies; 332 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 168 is above the median of 145 across 930 interventional studies indexed under Emergencies.

Browse Emergencies studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Edinburgh is the lead sponsor of 393 studies on the registry; 64 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
16 Years to 45 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • age >= 16 yrs
  • requesting emergency contraception
  • eligible for emergency contraception
  • written , informed consent

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • age \< 16 yrs
  • not able to give written , informed consent
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Health services research
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
168 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • No intervention
    control (standard care)

    standard verbal and written advice on contraception from pharmacy

  • Experimental
    rapid access

    rapid access to family planning service

    Other: rapid access

  • Experimental
    progestogen only pill

    one month progestogen only pill

    Other: one month progestogen only pill

Interventions

  • Otherrapid access

    Provision of box which the participant can take to local family planning clinic (contraceptive service) allowing rapid access (i.e. will be seen by a health professional for a consultation regarding contraception there and then).

  • Otherone month progestogen only pill

    Provision of 1 month supply of a progestogen only pill (levonorgestrel 35mcg - Norgeston, Bayer, UK)

    Also known as: Norgeston (Bayer, UK)

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Self-reported Uptake of Effective Ongoing Contraception (Not Condoms)

    Outcome measure identified when participants conducted for agreed telephone interview 6-8 weeks following recruitment to study. Participants asked via telephone what method of contraception, if any, there were currently using.

    Time frame: 6-8 weeks after EC

Secondary outcomes

  1. Pharmacy Recruitment Rates

    Proportion of participants that pharmacists were successful in recruiting during the specified 8 month recruitment time period. Initial target set to recruit 60 participants to each arm/group.

    Time frame: 8 months

  2. Completeness (Quality) of Data Recorded by Pharmacists (Numbers of Women Attending for EC,Demographics of All Attendees- Age, Ethnicity Etc)

    Time frame: 8 months

  3. Proportion of Women Who Agree to Participate Who Can be Successfully Contacted

    Time frame: 8 months

Other outcomes

  1. Qualitative Outcomes : Women's Views on Different Measures to Determine Validity of Self-reported Data on Contraceptive Use , Determined by in Depth Interviews.

    Time frame: 8 months

  2. Qualitative Outcomes : Pharmacist's Views on Interventions and Any Study Difficulties

    Time frame: 12 months

07

Results

Posted Aug 18, 2014
Limitations and caveats
Loss to follow-up relatively high. Self-reporting of primary outcome measure (contraceptive method at time of follow-up). Would have been preferable to be able to validate this. Pharmacists unable to record demographic data of those not recruited.

Participant flow

Recruitment from end April 2012 - end December 2012 (8 month period). Recruitment of participants by community pharmacists within 11 community pharmacies in Edinburgh. All participating pharmacists trained by the research team prior to commencing recruitment of participants.

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestoneControl (Standard Care)Rapid AccessProgestogen Only Pill
Started545856
Completed352839
Not completed193017
Withdrew: Lost to follow-up193017

Outcome measures

PrimarySelf-reported Uptake of Effective Ongoing Contraception (Not Condoms)

Outcome measure identified when participants conducted for agreed telephone interview 6-8 weeks following recruitment to study. Participants asked via telephone what method of contraception, if any, there were currently using.

Time frame:
6-8 weeks after EC
Reported as:
Number · participants
Self-reported Uptake of Effective Ongoing Contraception (Not Condoms)
participantsControl (Standard Care)Rapid AccessProgestogen Only Pill
Effective contraception51322
Long acting contraception053
No contraception / barrier method261217
Statistical analysis
  • Control (Standard Care) vs Progestogen Only Pill · t-test, 2 sided · p = <0.001 · Relative probability: 3.13 · 95% CI 1.90 to 5.13see above description of analysis taking into account cluster randomisation
  • Control (Standard Care) vs Rapid Access · t-test, 2 sided · p = 0.006 (see above comments regarding analysis taking cluster randomised account into consideration) · Relative probability: 2.57 · 95% CI 1.55 to 4.27
SecondaryPharmacy Recruitment Rates

Proportion of participants that pharmacists were successful in recruiting during the specified 8 month recruitment time period. Initial target set to recruit 60 participants to each arm/group.

Time frame:
8 months
Reported as:
Number · participants
Pharmacy Recruitment Rates
participantsControl (Standard Care)Rapid AccessProgestogen Only Pill
Recruited545856
Not recruited from target figure624
SecondaryCompleteness (Quality) of Data Recorded by Pharmacists (Numbers of Women Attending for EC,Demographics of All Attendees- Age, Ethnicity Etc)
Time frame:
8 months

Results for this outcome have not been posted.

SecondaryProportion of Women Who Agree to Participate Who Can be Successfully Contacted
Time frame:
8 months
Reported as:
Number · participants
Proportion of Women Who Agree to Participate Who Can be Successfully Contacted
participantsControl (Standard Care)Rapid AccessProgestogen Only Pill
Women successfully contacted for follow-up352839
Not contacted / lost to follow-up193017
Other pre-specifiedQualitative Outcomes : Women's Views on Different Measures to Determine Validity of Self-reported Data on Contraceptive Use , Determined by in Depth Interviews.
Time frame:
8 months

Results for this outcome have not been posted.

Other pre-specifiedQualitative Outcomes : Pharmacist's Views on Interventions and Any Study Difficulties
Time frame:
12 months

Results for this outcome have not been posted.

Adverse events

Collected over 14 months. Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Control (Standard Care)—0/54 (0%)0/54 (0%)
Rapid Access—0/58 (0%)0/58 (0%)
Progestogen Only Pill—0/56 (0%)0/56 (0%)

Baseline characteristics

Baseline analysis conducted on all participants successfully contacted for telephone follow-up at 6-8weeks post enrollment to study. no baseline analysis possible on those recruited in pharmacy but lost to follow-up.

Age, Continuous
Age, Continuous(years)Control (Standard Care)Rapid AccessProgestogen Only PillTotal
Mean23 ± 4.525 ± 5.622 ± 5.223 ± 5.2
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)Control (Standard Care)Rapid AccessProgestogen Only PillTotal
Female352839102
Male0000
Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(participants)Control (Standard Care)Rapid AccessProgestogen Only PillTotal
United Kingdom352839102
Contraception use at time of enrollment
Contraception use at time of enrollment(participants)Control (Standard Care)Rapid AccessProgestogen Only PillTotal
None1281333
Condoms19172662
Other method4307
08

Study locations

1 site
  • Chalmers sexual and reproductive health service
    Edinburgh, Lothian EH39ES, United Kingdom
09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 18, 2014, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01738971
Lead sponsor
University of Edinburgh
Collaborators
NHS Lothian, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Nov 30, 2012
Start date
Apr 2012
Primary completion
Dec 2012
Completion
Dec 2012
Results posted
Aug 18, 2014
Last update
Aug 18, 2014

Study contacts

Sharon T Cameron, MBChB
principal investigator · University of Edinburgh

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2014. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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