http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031106/hl_nm/contraception_teens_dc_1NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teens are more likely to take advantage of free contraception if they can get it directly than if they have to ask for vouchers they can redeem at community clinics, new research suggests.
The report compared the effectiveness of two systems designed to provide teens with free contraception: one that used school-based clinics to distribute vouchers for free birth control, and one in which the clinics distributed contraception to students who made an appointment.
Under the two systems, roughly 11 percent of students asked for contraception, suggesting that handing out contraception, rather than vouchers, does not increase the likelihood teens will ask for it.
However, only 25 to 50 percent of students who received vouchers for condoms or oral contraceptives eventually redeemed them. In contrast, when clinics handed out contraception directly, all of the students who requested condoms or oral contraceptives received them.
more