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Jill Keesbury. "EC as a bridge to VCT services for young women."

ABSTRACT

Emergency contraception (EC) represents a potentially important, but yet unexplored, avenue for increasing adolescent utilization of voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) services. Experiences from across Africa demonstrate that young women are the primary users of EC, and they are most likely to obtain it from private pharmacies. Pharmacy staffs, however, do not typically provide the counseling and referrals needed to address the broader range of issues associated with unprotected sex and can do little to address concerns of contracting HIV. To meet the dual needs of young women who have recently engaged in risky sex—pregnancy and HIV prevention—both EC and VCT services are required. VCT centers provide an excellent location for integrating the two services, boasting trained counselors and the ability to provide both services onsite. Yet, while important steps have been taken to integrate general family planning into VCT services, EC’s ability to serve as an entry point into VCT services has yet to be explored. This presentation reviews existing evidence on EC and VCT linkages, and develops a model for employing EC as a “bridge” to VCT services for adolescent women with risky sexual behaviors.

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This page updated
27 March 2007