Assessing the Provision of Person-Centered Contraceptive Care at Publicly Supported Clinics Providing Contraceptive Services in the United States.

Abstract

Introduction: We sought to understand the extent to which the contraceptive care provided at publicly supported family planning clinics in the United States aligns with aspects of person-centered care.

Materials and methods: We conducted a descriptive study with a national sample of U.S. family planning clinics between November 2022 and December 2023. We measured person-centeredness by the scope of services offered, including the extent to which providers solicit and prioritize patients' contraceptive intentions, preferences, and goals; the dispensing protocols for various contraceptive methods; and the availability of social services such as intimate partner violence screening and housing insecurity support. We fielded an online survey to a sample of 2,146 clinics, and our analytic sample was 422 clinics.

Results: Our results highlight that most publicly supported family planning clinics provide contraception using counseling protocols that support patient-centeredness, such as assessing patients' contraceptive preferences during contraceptive counseling. However, we found statistically significant variation by clinic type within many of these measures, with a higher proportion of Planned Parenthood clinics following patient-centered protocols than other clinic types, particularly federally qualified health centers and community health centers.

Conclusions: Publicly supported family planning clinics provide contraception using some person-centered care protocols, although there is room for improvement. Furthermore, person-centered practices vary by clinic type. More research should be done with patients to assess additional elements of person-centered contraceptive care.