Contraceptive failure in the first two years of use: differences across socioeconomic subgroups.

Context: While differences in levels of contraceptive use across socioeconomic subgroups of women have narrowed greatly over time, large disparities remain in rates of unintended pregnancy. One reason is variations in the effectiveness with which women and their partners use contraceptive methods.

Methods: Data on contraceptive use and accidental pregnancy from the 1988 and 1995 National Surveys of Family Growth were corrected for abortion underreporting and pooled for analysis.

Teenage abortion and pregnancy statistics by state, 1996.

Context: State-level teenage pregnancy rates, birthrates and abortion rates are needed for state-specific programs and policies. Accurate and complete state-level data were last published in 1992.

Methods: Teenage abortion rates according to state of residence, race and ethnicity were calculated from the results of The Alan Guttmacher Institute's survey of abortion providers and from information compiled by state health statistics agencies and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sexuality education in fifth and sixth grades in U.S. public schools, 1999.

Context: While policymakers, educators and parents recognize the need for family life and sexuality education during children's formative years and before adolescence, there is little nationally representative information on the timing and content of such instruction in elementary schools.

Methods: In 1999, data were gathered from 1, 789 fifth- and sixth-grade teachers as part of a nationally representative survey of 5,543 public school teachers in grades 5-12. Based on the responses of 617 fifth- and sixth-grade teachers who said they teach sexuality education, analyses were carried out on the topics and skills sexuality education teachers taught, the grades in which they taught them, their teaching approaches, the pressures they experienced, whether they received support from parents, the community and school administrators, and their needs.

Changing emphases in sexuality education in U.S. public secondary schools, 1988-1999.

Context: Since the late 1980s, both the political context surrounding sexuality education and actual teaching approaches have changed considerably. However, little current national information has been available on the content of sexuality education to allow in-depth understanding of the breadth of these changes and their impact on current teaching.

Methods: In 1999, a nationally representative survey collected data from 3,754 teachers in grades 7-12 in the five specialties most often responsible for sexuality education.

Abstinence promotion and the provision of information about contraception in public school district sexuality education policies.

Context: For more than two decades, abstinence from sexual intercourse has been promoted by some advocates as the central, if not sole, component of public school sexuality education policies in the United States. Little is known, however, about the extent to which policies actually focus on abstinence and about the relationship, at the local district level, between policies on teaching abstinence and policies on providing information about contraception.

Methods: A nationally representative sample of 825 public school district superintendents or their representatives completed a mailed questionnaire on sexuality education policies.

Determinants of trends in condom use in the United States, 1988-1995.

Context: Although overall condom use has increased substantially over the past decade, information is needed on whether dual method use has also become more common. In addition, there is little information on which characteristics of women influence condom use and dual method use, and on whether these characteristics have changed over time.

Methods: Data from the 1988 and 1995 National Surveys of Family Growth are examined to evaluate trends in condom use--either use alone or use with another highly effective method (dual method use).

The effects of pregnancy planning status on birth outcomes and infant care.

Context: The planning status of a pregnancy may affect a woman's prenatal behaviors and the health of her newborn. However, whether this effect is independent or is attributable to socioeconomic and demographic factors has not been explored using nationally representative data.

Methods: Data were obtained on 9,122 births reported in the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey and 2,548 births reported in the 1988 National Survey of Family Growth.

Mainstreaming contraceptive services in managed care--five states' experiences.

Context: The ongoing, rapid national transition from a health care financing and delivery system dominated by traditional indemnity insurance to one dominated by managed care has enormous implications for the accessibility of contraceptive services.

Methods: In each of five areas with relatively mature managed care environments (all of Colorado, Massachusetts and Michigan, as well as selected counties in California and Florida), all managed care organizations serving commercial or Medicaid enrollees were asked about their coverage of contraceptive services and the procedures for obtaining that care. In addition, all publicly funded family planning agencies in these areas were queried about their involvement with managed care plans, and representative samples of reproductive-age women at risk of unintended pregnancy and enrolled in managed care plans were asked about their plan's coverage and their experiences in obtaining contraceptive services.