RESULTS OF A USER SATISFACTION STUDY CARRIED OUT IN WOMEN USING UNIPLANT CONTRACEPTIVE IMPLANT

A study of the acceptability of Uniplant, a 12-month single implant of nomegestrol acetate, included 819 women from Africa, Latin America, a nd China, participating in a clinical trial of Uniplant. A standard, p re-coded questionnaire was specially designed for this purpose and app lied at the moment of removal of implant, either at the end of 12 mont hs of use or at the time of discontinuation for whatever reason. The l evel of satisfaction proved high when users' comparison with their pre vious contraceptive method, users' recommendation of Uniplant to other s, users' intention to use the method in the future, and service satis faction were taken into consideration. Uniplant was considered easy to use, safe (low risk of pregnancy), and also to cause fewer side effec ts than other methods. When asked about the least liked feature of Uni plant, almost half the respondents said that there was nothing that th ey disliked and about one-third mentioned the changes in their menstru al pattern. However, according to the clinical trial, over half of the Uniplant users have bleeding patterns similar to untreated cycles. Th e majority of respondents did not feel any discomfort during the proce dure of insertion and removal of the implant. About 70% of patients in the study stated that they required contraception for more than one y ear and most of these women said that they did not mind having to chan ge the implant every year. (C) 1996 by E.M. Coutinho et al.