Michigan Contraceptive Access, Research, and Evaluation Study: Phase 1 (M-CARES)

May 30, 2026 updated by: Martha Bailey, University of Michigan

Michigan Contraceptive Access, Research, and Evaluation Study

M-CARES will use large-scale administrative data complemented by follow-up surveys and a randomized control trial (RCT) to estimate the causal impact of greater financial access to contraception on a comprehensive set of outcomes. Outcomes include contraceptive use, pregnancy, childbearing, and parenting strategies; partnership decisions and relationship quality; health and health care use; education, labor market success, and public assistance receipt; financial security; neighborhood quality; mental health and stress; and life plans. The resulting estimates will inform a more complete understanding of the costs and benefits of financial access to contraception and, therefore, the investment value of related policies and programs.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
4633

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Michigan
      • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48103
        • Planned Parenthood - Ann Arbor-West
      • Detroit, Michigan, United States, 48201
        • Planned Parenthood - Detroit
      • Ferndale, Michigan, United States, 48220
        • Planned Parenthood - Ferndale
      • Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, 49503
        • Planned Parenthood - Grand Rapids
      • Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States, 49006
        • Planned Parenthood - Kalamazoo
      • Lansing, Michigan, United States, 48912
        • Planned Parenthood - Lansing
      • Livonia, Michigan, United States, 48154
        • Planned Parenthood - Livonia
      • Traverse City, Michigan, United States, 49686
        • Planned Parenthood - Traverse City
      • Warren, Michigan, United States, 48093
        • Planned Parenthood - Warren

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 35 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

M-CARES will recruit 5,000 women at Michigan Planned Parenthood of Michigan (PPMI) clinics who face potentially large out-of-pocket costs for highly effective contraceptives, especially LARC methods. In order to be eligible to participate in the study, the woman needs to meet the following criteria:

  1. . 18-35 years old,
  2. . physically capable (biologically female and fecund) and at risk of having a pregnancy (has sex with men),
  3. . not pregnant at the time of enrollment and not wishing to become pregnant in the next 12 months,
  4. . face some out-of-pocket costs for contraceptives at PPMI

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Treatment Group
Women in this arm of the study receive a voucher which can be used to buy contraception and related services at Planned Parenthood
Behavioral: Gift card to be used for contraceptives that is valued at 50% of cost of name-brand IUD (August 26, 2018-March 3, 2019)
M-CARES will randomize allocation of vouchers (gift cards) for contraception valued up to 50% of inserting a name-brand IUD (e.g., Skyla, Paraguard, Mirena) for women with out of pocket costs at Planned Parenthood. This intervention occurred between August 18, 2018, and March 3, 2019.
Behavioral: Gift card to be used for contraceptives that is valued at 100% of cost of name-brand IUD (March 4, 2019-March 31, 2023)
M-CARES will randomize allocation of vouchers (gift cards) for contraception valued up to 100% of inserting a name-brand IUD (e.g., Skyla, Paraguard, Mirena) for women with out of pocket costs at Planned Parenthood. This intervention occurred after March 3, 2019.
No Intervention: Control Group
Women in this arm of the study DO NOT receive a voucher for contraceptives. Women in this arm receive the Planned Parenthood standard of care priced according to the Planned Parenthood sliding scale.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Incidence of patients billing for use of any contraception (1 for use of contraception/0 no use of contraception)
Time Frame: 100 days from enrollment
Share of participants that purchase contraception as determined by Planned Parenthood of Michigan (PPMI) billing records and code the outcome based on purchases of contraceptives within 100 days of study enrollment (0 for no use of contraception; 1 for use of contraception).
100 days from enrollment
Incidence of patients billing for long-run acting, reversible contraception (LARC) (0 no use of LARC/1 for use of LARC)
Time Frame: 100 days from enrollment
Share of participants that purchase long-run, acting reversible contraception as determined by PPMI billing records and code the outcome based on purchases of for long-run acting, reversible contraception (LARC) within 100 days of enrollment (0 for no use of contraception; 1 for use of contraception)
100 days from enrollment
Incidence of patients billing for long-run acting, reversible contraception (LARC) (0 no use of LARC/1 for use of LARC)
Time Frame: Up to 1 year post enrollment
Share of participants that purchase long-run, acting reversible contraception as determined by PPMI billing records and code the outcome based on purchases of for long-run acting, reversible contraception (LARC) up to 1 year of enrollment (0 for no use of contraception; 1 for use of contraception)
Up to 1 year post enrollment
Incidence of pregnancy up to 1 year post enrollment
Time Frame: Up to 1 year post-enrollment
Incidence of pregnancies within one year of enrollment in the study. This data is obtained from PPMI records for pregnancy tests, emergency contraception, abortion, and childbirth as well as surveys.
Up to 1 year post-enrollment
Incidence of pregnancy up to 3 years post enrollment
Time Frame: Up to 3 year post-enrollment
Incidence of pregnancies within 3 years of enrollment in the study. This data is obtained from PPMI records for pregnancy tests, emergency contraception, abortion, and childbirth as well as surveys.
Up to 3 year post-enrollment
Incidence of childbirth up to 1 year post enrollment
Time Frame: Up to 1 years post enrollment
Incidence of childbirth up to 1 year after enrollment in the study. This data is obtained from PPMI records childbirth and prenatal care, state of Michigan records on natality, and surveys of participants.
Up to 1 years post enrollment
Incidence of childbirth up to 3 year post enrollment
Time Frame: Up to 3 years post enrollment
Incidence of childbirth up to 3 year after enrollment in the study. This data is obtained from PPMI records childbirth and prenatal care, state of Michigan records on natality, and surveys of participants.
Up to 3 years post enrollment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Michigan

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Opinion Research Center

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 26, 2018

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 15, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 12, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 17, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 2, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 30, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • M-CARES

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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