Quick Start Approach to Birth Control Pills

April 9, 2007 updated by: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

RCT of a Novel Oral Contraceptive Initiation Method

Women who choose to take birth control pills are currently instructed to begin taking the pills at the end of a menstrual cycle. This creates a window of time between when the woman is given the pills and when she begins taking them. Some women fail to begin taking the pills, placing them at increased risk of pregnancy. This study will evaluate a new approach to beginning birth control pills. Women will take the first pill in the doctor's office rather than waiting until the next menstrual cycle.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Despite the effectiveness of oral contraceptives, pregnancy rates are high among women who choose this method of birth control. These pregnancies occur due to incorrect use, premature discontinuation, and failure to begin taking oral contraceptives after they have been prescribed. As many as 25% of adolescents who seek oral contraceptives from family planning clinics never take the first pill. Failure to begin oral contraceptives may occur due to ambivalence, confusion about starting instructions, or intervening pregnancy. Conventional starting instructions for oral contraceptives require waiting until the next menstrual period; this may leave the woman at high risk of pregnancy. This trial will evaluate a "quick start" approach in which the woman swallows the first pill during the clinic visit under direct observation and then continues daily pill use without waiting for her next menses. The trial will determine whether immediate oral contraceptive initiation offers benefits compared to conventional starting approaches.

Participants in this study will be randomized to receive either the quick start or the standard starting approach. Participants will complete a questionnaire at study entry and Months 3 and 6. The main outcomes are 6-month oral contraceptive continuation rates and pregnancy rates.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

2000

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Georgia
      • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30303
        • Emory University School of Medicine
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10128
        • Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
    • Texas
      • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75235
        • University Of Texas Southwestern Medical Center At Dallas

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

Ages Eligible for Study

No older than 24 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria

  • Requests hormonal contraceptives as primary method of contraception
  • Sexually active (intercourse within 30 days prior to study entry) or anticipating sexual activity within 30 days following study entry

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: Factorial Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Carolyn L. Westhoff, MD, MSc, Columbia University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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

February 1, 2003

Study Completion

March 1, 2005

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 10, 2003

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 10, 2003

First Posted (Estimate)

September 11, 2003

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

April 10, 2007

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 9, 2007

Last Verified

April 1, 2007

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • HD42413

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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