Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Project

College/School

College of Nursing

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Project Mentor

Therry Eparwa

Readers

Hallene Guo

Abstract

Despite evidence that long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) is safe, appropriate, and highly efficacious for people under age 25, this younger population is under-represented among LARC users in the US. At the Orion Clinic in Seattle, Kaiser Permanente offers primary care to street-involved young people between the ages of 12 and 24. Since opening in 2016, young patients at the Orion Clinichave initiated LARC at low rates, which reflects national trends. The aims of this project are to understand the reasons for this population’s underuse of highly effective contraceptive methods; to increase participants’ knowledge and positive attitudes toward LARC; and to increase LARC use rates. The quality improvement project entails an educational intervention and a pre- and post-test with quantitative and qualitative elements. Results showed that participants’ priorities when choosing contraceptive methods were safety, efficacy, and side effects. Baseline knowledge about LARC was low and a significant increase was noted after the intervention. Knowledge of LARC was positively correlated with interest in using LARC, but changes in interest were not significant. Any change in rates of LARC use at the Clinic could not be assessed due to limited available data.

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