Oral contraceptive pills shortage in Lebanon amidst the economic collapse: a nationwide exploratory study.
Abortion
Contraception
Economic crisis
Lebanon
Oral contraceptive pills
Reproductive health
Women
Journal
BMC health services research
ISSN: 1472-6963
Titre abrégé: BMC Health Serv Res
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101088677
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
23 May 2023
23 May 2023
Historique:
received:
14
11
2022
accepted:
09
05
2023
medline:
25
5
2023
pubmed:
24
5
2023
entrez:
23
5
2023
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
The political instability, economic crisis, and devaluation of the national currency left Lebanese females suffering from a scarcity of oral contraceptive pills (OCPs). Therefore, we aimed to identify the incidence of OCPs shortage in Lebanon and its impact on women's sexual and reproductive health, as well as physical and psychological well-being. Community pharmacies were selected randomly across Lebanon, using a stratified sampling approach, where female clients asking for OCPs were interviewed using a standardized data collection form. A total of 440 females were interviewed. More than three-quarters of the participants (76.4%) reported not finding their preferred OCPs brands, almost 40% were affected by the increased prices, and 28.4% declared stockpiling OCPs. More than half of the participants using OCPs for pregnancy prevention reported adopting alternative traditional contraceptive methods (55.3%). Unplanned pregnancy was reported by 9.5% of participants, where 75% of them disclosed intentional abortion while the remaining (25%) reported experiencing a spontaneous miscarriage. Other consequences of OCPs shortage included mood disturbances (52.3%), dysregulation of menses (49.7%), dysmenorrhea (21.1%), weight gain (19.6%), acne (15.7%), and hirsutism (12.5%). Of the participants taking OCPs for birth control, 48.6% reported a reduced frequency of sexual intercourse, which led to conflicts with their partners (46%) and a decreased libido (26.7%). OCPs shortage has seriously and negatively exposed women to various undesirable consequences including unplanned pregnancy and dysregulation of menses. Therefore, there is an urgent need to bring the attention of healthcare authorities to support the national pharmaceutical industry in manufacturing affordable OCPs generics to meet women's reproductive health demands.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
The political instability, economic crisis, and devaluation of the national currency left Lebanese females suffering from a scarcity of oral contraceptive pills (OCPs). Therefore, we aimed to identify the incidence of OCPs shortage in Lebanon and its impact on women's sexual and reproductive health, as well as physical and psychological well-being.
METHODS
METHODS
Community pharmacies were selected randomly across Lebanon, using a stratified sampling approach, where female clients asking for OCPs were interviewed using a standardized data collection form.
RESULTS
RESULTS
A total of 440 females were interviewed. More than three-quarters of the participants (76.4%) reported not finding their preferred OCPs brands, almost 40% were affected by the increased prices, and 28.4% declared stockpiling OCPs. More than half of the participants using OCPs for pregnancy prevention reported adopting alternative traditional contraceptive methods (55.3%). Unplanned pregnancy was reported by 9.5% of participants, where 75% of them disclosed intentional abortion while the remaining (25%) reported experiencing a spontaneous miscarriage. Other consequences of OCPs shortage included mood disturbances (52.3%), dysregulation of menses (49.7%), dysmenorrhea (21.1%), weight gain (19.6%), acne (15.7%), and hirsutism (12.5%). Of the participants taking OCPs for birth control, 48.6% reported a reduced frequency of sexual intercourse, which led to conflicts with their partners (46%) and a decreased libido (26.7%).
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
OCPs shortage has seriously and negatively exposed women to various undesirable consequences including unplanned pregnancy and dysregulation of menses. Therefore, there is an urgent need to bring the attention of healthcare authorities to support the national pharmaceutical industry in manufacturing affordable OCPs generics to meet women's reproductive health demands.
Identifiants
pubmed: 37221534
doi: 10.1186/s12913-023-09523-3
pii: 10.1186/s12913-023-09523-3
pmc: PMC10204010
doi:
Substances chimiques
Contraceptives, Oral
0
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
520Informations de copyright
© 2023. The Author(s).
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