Abstract
Introduction Would adolescent girls in Germany choose a different method of contraception to the
combined oral contraceptive if provided with the appropriate information? Is there
a need for long-acting contraception among our adolescent girls? How satisfied are
female patients with the information they receive at their respective gynaecology
practices, and how much do the girls know about different methods of contraception?
Materials and Methods In the study “Thinking About Needs in COntraception” (TANCO), not only female patients,
but also their respective gynaecologists were surveyed online about current methods
of contraception, their satisfaction with these methods, and also their level of knowledge
concerning the individual methods of contraception, the situation related to advice
about different contraceptive options and their general satisfaction with gynaecological
care. This article presents the data from the subset of adolescent girls aged 14 to
19 years (n = 2699) out of the total of 18 521 women surveyed.
Results The girls surveyed were familiar with at least the name of more than five different
methods of contraception (average 5.3). The doctors assumed that the respondents would
know only 4.2 different methods. When asked explicitly about how the individual methods
of contraception work, clear deficits became evident. This applies not only to the
entire population of respondents, but also the users of the respective contraceptive
method. In addition, a strong interest in long-acting contraception emerged from the
survey, particularly among young women.
Discussion The data from the TANCO study reveal a clear discrepancy between the existing contraception
almost exclusively in the form of the contraceptive pill and the contraceptive options
considered by adolescent girls if they are thoroughly informed. The need for education
into alternatives to the pill is high, as is the willingness to use such alternatives
after receiving information – much higher than the figures suggested by the gynaecologists.
Key words
adolescents - contraception - long-acting contraception - knowledge - adolescents
