NuvaRing Acceptability

Willingness to use NuvaRing, from a survey of 691 female college students:

OCPs were the most popular method, with more than 86% of respondents indicating that they were willing to use (53.5%) or were already using (32.8%) OCPs, followed by almost 40% who were willing to use the contraceptive patch. Respondents were least likely to be willing to try the contraceptive vaginal ring (20.4%). Respondents were primarily concerned with pregnancy and STD protection, cost, accessibility and side effects.

A very interesting finding from the survey:

Respondents expressed a twofold preference for oral administration over skin administration, threefold preference for oral administration over injection and more than eightfold preference for oral administration over vaginal administration. However, respondents expressed a strong preference for less frequent administration: more than 60% stated that they liked weekly or monthly administration, compared with 43% who preferred a daily method.

The researchers conclude:

[This study] highlights the importance of considering social context in the development of contraceptive methods and reinforces the need to obtain women's feedback on characteristics of the method in acceptability studies. Indeed, despite the desirable dosing schedule, the monthly regimen alone may be insufficient in motivating young women to use a method that entails vaginal insertion, particularly committed oral contraceptive users. Thus, clinicians should emphasize ways of increasing the acceptability of contraceptive vaginal ring insertion. These might include clinician insertion during the office visit, counseling regarding the ease of self-insertion and suggesting insertion devices such as tampon holders. These measures may increase the acceptability of the contraceptive vaginal ring among young women with busy lifestyles who might benefit from a nondaily method.