SOCIAL AND SITUATIONAL FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH CONTRACEPTIVE SWITCHING - IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTITIONERS

This study was an investigation of contraceptive switching in the cont ext of a 5-wave panel design of diaphragm and pill users from the New York City metropolitan area. The respondents were 525 women between th e ages of 14 and 46, who came to one of 10 family planning clinics to obtain birth control, Results indicated a hazard function for switchin g in which the hazard rate increased in the initial weeks and then gra dually declined over time. Clinic experiences on the part of the women were found to alter survivorship trends. Implications of the data for service providers were developed.