Adolescent and young adult women's knowledge of and attitudes toward the intrauterine device.

Background: This study aimed to assess adolescent (aged 14-18 years) and young adult (aged 19-24 years) women's knowledge of and attitudes toward intrauterine devices (IUDs) before and after a brief educational intervention.

Study Design: We administered a 43-item survey to 144 women aged 14-24 years, with half in each age category. The survey assessed knowledge of and attitudes toward IUDs, and incorporated a 3-min educational intervention about IUDs. Predictors for knowledge of and attitudes toward the IUD were examined using logistic regression.

Results: Forty percent of participants had heard of the IUD. Having ever heard of the IUD was associated with age >18 years [adjusted odds ratio (OR)=5.7; 95% confidence interval (95% CI)=2.1-15.7], a higher level of maternal education (adjusted OR=4.5; 95% CI=1.5-13.3) and a history of voluntary sexual intercourse (adjusted OR=4.9; 95% CI=1.0-23.5). Of those who had heard of the IUD previously, 37.5% reported a positive attitude toward the IUD before the intervention. After the educational intervention, 53.5% of all participants reported a positive attitude toward the IUD, with both adolescent and young adult women having similarly positive attitudes (51.4% vs. 55.6%, p=.62). This positive attitude was associated only with a history of voluntary sexual intercourse (adjusted OR=5.2; 95% CI=1.3-21.1). The characteristics of the IUD that the participants strongly liked and disliked were rated similarly by the two age groups. However, more adolescent women considered the privacy of the IUD and the ability to use the copper IUD for 10 years as positive characteristics.

Conclusion: Most young women were unaware of IUDs but were likely to think positively about IUDs after being educated about them. Demographic and reproductive health history did not predict attitude; thus, all young women should be offered education about IUDs.