The French pill scare and the reshaping of social inequalities in access to medical contraceptives
While the consequences of various ''pill scares'' have been relatively well-documented in the public health literature revealing a drop in pill use and a rise in unplanned pregnancies and abortion rates, researchers rarely considered that these controversies would affect women co...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2020-08-01
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| Series: | SSM: Population Health |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827320302433 |
| _version_ | 1818333553323147264 |
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| author | Mireille Le Guen Mylène Rouzaud-Cornabas Henri Panjo Laurent Rigal Virginie Ringa Caroline Moreau Arnaud Gautier Nathalie Lydié Delphine Rahib Frédérike Limousi Jean-Baptiste Richard Cécile Brouard |
| author_facet | Mireille Le Guen Mylène Rouzaud-Cornabas Henri Panjo Laurent Rigal Virginie Ringa Caroline Moreau Arnaud Gautier Nathalie Lydié Delphine Rahib Frédérike Limousi Jean-Baptiste Richard Cécile Brouard |
| author_sort | Mireille Le Guen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While the consequences of various ''pill scares'' have been relatively well-documented in the public health literature revealing a drop in pill use and a rise in unplanned pregnancies and abortion rates, researchers rarely considered that these controversies would affect women contraceptive practices differently according to their social background. Indeed, social differentiations in reaction to ''pill scares'' could contribute to reinforce the social gradient in the use of contraceptive methods and choice of visiting the health professionals who prescribe them. These could contribute to an increase in health inequalities on access to contraceptive methods. Using data from three state nationally representative cross-sectional surveys conducted in France in 2010, 2013 and 2016, we studied the changes in women's contraceptive uses around the French ''pill scare'' that occurred in 2012–2013. We focused on the changes in the use of all contraceptives available under medical prescription (called medical contraceptives) on one hand, and on each specific method (pill, IUD, implant, patch or vaginal ring, and female sterilization) on the other hand according to the women's social background. We saw a social gradient in contraceptives changes. The decline in the use of contraceptive methods available under medical prescription was particularly marked for women from lower and higher classes in which we observe a decrease in pill use between 2010 and 2013, whereas it was observed only between 2013 and 2016 among middle class women. Moreover, while some women from upper class shifted from pill to IUD between 2010 and 2013, this was not the case for their less privileged counterparts. As a consequence, it seems that the French ''pill scare'' led to the reshaping of social inequalities in access to medical contraceptives. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T13:53:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bec8a8a8eef742e98903d27dbf89ec00 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2352-8273 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T13:53:28Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SSM: Population Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-bec8a8a8eef742e98903d27dbf89ec002022-12-21T23:42:59ZengElsevierSSM: Population Health2352-82732020-08-0111100606The French pill scare and the reshaping of social inequalities in access to medical contraceptivesMireille Le Guen0Mylène Rouzaud-Cornabas1Henri Panjo2Laurent Rigal3Virginie Ringa4Caroline Moreau5Arnaud GautierNathalie LydiéDelphine RahibFrédérike LimousiJean-Baptiste RichardCécile BrouardCentre for Demographic Research, Université catholique de Louvain, Place Montesquieu 1, L2.08.03, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Soins primaires et prévention, CESP Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, U1018, Inserm, F-94807 Villejuif, France; Institut National d’Études démographiques, 9 Cours des Humanités, F-93300 Aubervilliers, France; Corresponding author. Centre for Demographic Research, Université catholique de Louvain, Place Montesquieu 1, L2.08.03, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.Soins primaires et prévention, CESP Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, U1018, Inserm, F-94807 Villejuif, FranceSoins primaires et prévention, CESP Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, U1018, Inserm, F-94807 Villejuif, FranceSoins primaires et prévention, CESP Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, U1018, Inserm, F-94807 Villejuif, France; Institut National d’Études démographiques, 9 Cours des Humanités, F-93300 Aubervilliers, FranceSoins primaires et prévention, CESP Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, U1018, Inserm, F-94807 Villejuif, France; Institut National d’Études démographiques, 9 Cours des Humanités, F-93300 Aubervilliers, FranceSoins primaires et prévention, CESP Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, U1018, Inserm, F-94807 Villejuif, France; Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, USAWhile the consequences of various ''pill scares'' have been relatively well-documented in the public health literature revealing a drop in pill use and a rise in unplanned pregnancies and abortion rates, researchers rarely considered that these controversies would affect women contraceptive practices differently according to their social background. Indeed, social differentiations in reaction to ''pill scares'' could contribute to reinforce the social gradient in the use of contraceptive methods and choice of visiting the health professionals who prescribe them. These could contribute to an increase in health inequalities on access to contraceptive methods. Using data from three state nationally representative cross-sectional surveys conducted in France in 2010, 2013 and 2016, we studied the changes in women's contraceptive uses around the French ''pill scare'' that occurred in 2012–2013. We focused on the changes in the use of all contraceptives available under medical prescription (called medical contraceptives) on one hand, and on each specific method (pill, IUD, implant, patch or vaginal ring, and female sterilization) on the other hand according to the women's social background. We saw a social gradient in contraceptives changes. The decline in the use of contraceptive methods available under medical prescription was particularly marked for women from lower and higher classes in which we observe a decrease in pill use between 2010 and 2013, whereas it was observed only between 2013 and 2016 among middle class women. Moreover, while some women from upper class shifted from pill to IUD between 2010 and 2013, this was not the case for their less privileged counterparts. As a consequence, it seems that the French ''pill scare'' led to the reshaping of social inequalities in access to medical contraceptives.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827320302433Pill scareContraceptive usePillIUDFemale sterilizationSocial inequalities |
| spellingShingle | Mireille Le Guen Mylène Rouzaud-Cornabas Henri Panjo Laurent Rigal Virginie Ringa Caroline Moreau Arnaud Gautier Nathalie Lydié Delphine Rahib Frédérike Limousi Jean-Baptiste Richard Cécile Brouard The French pill scare and the reshaping of social inequalities in access to medical contraceptives SSM: Population Health Pill scare Contraceptive use Pill IUD Female sterilization Social inequalities |
| title | The French pill scare and the reshaping of social inequalities in access to medical contraceptives |
| title_full | The French pill scare and the reshaping of social inequalities in access to medical contraceptives |
| title_fullStr | The French pill scare and the reshaping of social inequalities in access to medical contraceptives |
| title_full_unstemmed | The French pill scare and the reshaping of social inequalities in access to medical contraceptives |
| title_short | The French pill scare and the reshaping of social inequalities in access to medical contraceptives |
| title_sort | french pill scare and the reshaping of social inequalities in access to medical contraceptives |
| topic | Pill scare Contraceptive use Pill IUD Female sterilization Social inequalities |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827320302433 |
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