Required examinations and tests before initiating contraception: Provider practices from a national cross-sectional survey.

Objective(s): We estimated the prevalence of requiring specific examinations or tests before providing contraception in a nationwide survey of family planning providers.

Study Design: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of public-sector health centers and office-based physicians providing family planning services across the United States in 2019 (n = 1395). We estimated the weighted proportion of providers (or their health center or practice) who required blood pressure measurement, pelvic examination (bimanual examination and cervical inspection), Papanicolaou (Pap) smear, clinical breast examination (CBE), and chlamydia and gonorrhea (CT/GC) screening before initiating hormonal or intrauterine contraception (IUC) for healthy women.

Leveraging an Academic-Practice Partnership to Improve Maternal and Child Health Outcomes in North Carolina.

In 2016, the North Carolina Division of Public Health (DPH) launched the Improving Community Outcomes for Maternal and Child Health (ICO4MCH) program to provide 5 local health departments (LHDs) with financial resources and technical assistance to address 3 aims: improve birth outcomes, reduce infant mortality, and improve health for children from birth to 5 years. State legislation established an academic-practice partnership between NCDPH and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) to provide program evaluation and implementation coaching to LHDs. ICO4MCH used a collective impact framework, principles of implementation science, and a health equity approach to implement evidence-based strategies to address the program's aims.

Changes in US health care provider attitudes related to contraceptive safety before and after the release of National Guidance.

Objective: The US Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use (USMEC) is the first national guidance containing evidence-based recommendations for contraception. We describe provider attitudes about contraceptive safety before and after the 2010 USMEC release.

Study Design: We conducted two cross-sectional mailed surveys using different nationwide samples of office-based physicians and Title X clinic providers before (2009-2010) and after (2013-2014) the USMEC release.

Health Care Provider Attitudes about the Safety of "Quick Start" Initiation of Long-Acting Reversible Contraception for Adolescents.

Study Objective: To identify characteristics associated with provider attitudes on the safety of "Quick Start" initiation of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) for adolescents. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, INTERVENTIONS, AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of providers in public-sector health centers and office-based physicians (n = 2056) during 2013-2014.

Results: Overall, the prevalence of considering "Quick Start" initiation of LARC for adolescents as safe was 70.

State-Identified Implementation Strategies to Increase Uptake of Immediate Postpartum Long-Acting Reversible Contraception Policies.

Background: In 2014, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) convened a multistate Immediate Postpartum Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) Learning Community to facilitate cross-state collaboration in implementation of policies. The Learning Community model was based on systems change, through multistate peer-to-peer learning and strategy-sharing activities. This study uses interview data from 13 participating state teams to identify state-implemented strategies within defined domains that support policy implementation.

Addressing Intimate Partner Violence to Improve Women's Preconception Health.

Exposure to violence can harm women's overall health and well-being. Data suggest that one in three women in the United States experience some form of violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. In this commentary, we describe the implications of intimate partner violence (IPV) on women's health, specifically for women of reproductive age.