Empowering Choices: Patient Education for Contraceptive Confidence

The complexity of birth control options significantly impacts women\u27s lives, with hormonal contraceptives being commonly used but often misunderstood. These contraceptives, which contain estrogen and progestin or progestin only, come in various forms such as pills, implants, IUDs, injections, the vaginal ring, and skin patches, offering benefits such as reduced menstrual cramps and ectopic pregnancy risk. However, they can also lead to adverse effects including increased blood pressure, nausea, headaches, breakthrough bleeding, and heightened risk of blood clots, with research indicating a potential link between their use and a decline in mental health. Given the prevalence of depression, particularly in women, compounded by hormonal factors, it is crucial for healthcare providers, nurses, and educators to offer comprehensive education about the various birth control options and their potential effects on mental health. This research aims to investigate whether educating adolescent women about hormonal contraception could impact the knowledge of women using it and how it connects to addressing gaps contributing to poor mental health. An appointed nurse will provide a pre-education assessment, followed by education to adolescent women about hormonal birth control and its side effects, and will also administer a post-education assessment. The means of the two differing variables will be compared using a t-test to ascertain if the education has an effect on the population that was sampled.https://scholar.dominican.edu/nursing-student-research-posters/1039/thumbnail.jp