THE FAMILY-PLANNING ATTITUDES AND EXPERIENCES OF LOW-INCOME WOMEN

A 1995 telephone survey of 1,852 low-income women aged 18-34 who were sexually active and at risk of unintended pregnancy found that 83% wer e currently practicing contraception. They were more likely to do so i f they held positive attitudes toward contraceptive use, if they talke d frequently about intimate matters with their partners and girlfriend s and if they were very satisfied with the services they received at t heir last gynecologic visit Seventy percent of current users said they were very satisfied with their method. Women whose last visit was to a clinic, who were very satisfied with the care they received and who used the pill ora long-acting method were more likely than others to r eport being very satisfied with their contraceptive. Women very satisf ied with their gynecologic care were more likely to use oral contracep tives and to take them consistently, but were less likely to report th at their partner used condoms or, if they did, used them consistently. Most women had made a medical visit for gynecologic or contraceptive care in the past year (86%), and 80% were very satisfied overall with their care at their last visit Women were more likely to be very satis fied if the staff was courteous, helpful and respectful and made an ef fort to find out their needs, if their clinician's gender matched thei r own preference and if the facility was clean and services were organ ized.