RCT: Can a Single Counseling Phone Call Improve Contraception After an Abortion?

Hypothesis: Use of an effective contraceptive six weeks after abortion will be higher in the
treatment group than in the control group.

Primary Aim ·To determine use of an effective contraceptive method six weeks after abortion
in women who choose combined hormonal contraception (CHC) and who receive a three-week
educational phone call as compared to women who do not receive the intervention.

Secondary Aims

- To describe the most common concerns and logistical problems women experience with
initiating and adhering to CHC after abortion.

- To describe the concerns that lead to discontinuation or method change. *To assess
feasibility of conducting a follow-up telephone call in this population This is a
randomized, controlled trial to assess the effect of a three-week follow-up phone call
in women who choose combined hormonal contraception on the day of their abortion at the
San Francisco General Hospital Women's Options Center. Subjects randomized to the
treatment group will receive an interventional phone call three weeks after their
abortion; participants randomized to the control group will not receive the call. All
subjects will receive a follow-up call six weeks after their abortion to assess and
compare method use between the two groups. Calls will be made at three- and six-weeks
post abortion in order to give subjects enough time to initiate CHC and to assess
continuation into the second month of the method. Data will be collected at baseline,
during the intervention for the treatment group and during the final follow-up call for
both groups. The primary outcome is use of an effective contraceptive six weeks after
abortion.