Determining Providers Knowledge of Prescribing Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to increase primary care providers’ (PCPs) knowledge and self-efficacy in prescribing long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC) to women of childbearing age. Background: Reducing unintended pregnancy is of great importance to national public health. The combined oral contraceptive pill remains the most commonly utilized contraceptive method, despite expert recommendations for LARCs as the first line contraceptive method. Increasing provider knowledge and identifying barriers to LARCs are pivotal to increasing adoption of this evidence supported birth control method. Methods: The Theory of Planned Behavior (TBP) was applied as a predictive theory for determining individual behavior change. Primary care providers attended a 20-minute LARC educational presentation, then completed a post/pre survey assessing PCP knowledge and intention to change practice. Results: Six out of eleven invited primary care providers participated in the educational session. The survey results demonstrated a successful intervention that addressed the PCPs concerns when counseling patients on LARCs, decreasing concerns for LARCs, and increasing an intent to change prescribing practices to better align with expert recommendations. The results will be utilized to guide future PDSA cycles of this project. Conclusion: This quality improvement project demonstrates the effectiveness of a brief educational intervention to influence providers prescribing practices toward evidence-based practice. Providers indicated their intention to increase uptake of LARC methods, thereby decreasing risk for unintended pregnancy in their patients. Expanding the educational intervention to include device insertion training may be necessary to further disseminate the impact of long-acting reversible contraceptives.