Australian women's experiences of accessing and using the oral contraceptive pill

Abstract

Since its release onto the market in 1960, the oral contraceptive pill (OCP) has become one of the most widely used medications for women. During the ensuing 60 years, most countries have made the OCP available-over-the counter (OTC), due to its safety profile and public health policies of making access to contraception a right for women. Australia is becoming anomalous by its continued prescription-only status for the OCP. This study aimed to explore contemporary Australian women's experiences of accessing the OCP, as well as to understand these women's uses of the OCP with one-to-one semi-structured interviews (n=25). Within a feminist post-structuralist framework, Thematic Discourse Analysis was employed to produce five discursive themes: Auxiliary Uses of the OCP - the 'Lifestyle Drug'; Barriers to Obtaining the OCP for Women under 25; Barriers to Obtaining the OCP for Women 25 and Over; The Impact of Gender on the Clinical Experience; and The Medical Expertise of the General Practitioner. In the study it was found that women aged 25 or over primarily encountered structural barriers to obtaining the OCP, while women under 25 years described experiencing a range of social and cultural barriers to access. The study also demonstrated that the OCP is often used not as a contraceptive, but as medication for acne, and heavy and/or painful periods. The results of this study may inform further research and Australian public health policy makers on women's barriers to contraception which may be removed by scheduling the OCP to OTC to be in line with analogous countries.

Date of Award	2021
Original language	English