Doctor knows best? Provider bias in the context of contraceptive counseling in the United States

Coerced Choice: Resigned Contraceptive Usership Among Individuals Affected by Reproductive Coercion

“…Second, it is important for clinicians to recognize that clinician bias toward and enthusiasm for LARC during contraceptive counseling has at times overshadowed patient preference. [25][26][27][28] Clinicians may see individuals selecting an arm implant or IUD as a contraceptive success, but the participants' stories in this study paint a more complex picture. Individuals may have selected an LARC method not because it is the method they actually prefer but because they do not feel like they have any other choice.…”

“…By understanding that some individuals have limited choice in methods because of RC from their partners, clinicians can deliver more individualized and supportive counseling. Second, it is important for clinicians to recognize that clinician bias toward and enthusiasm for LARC during contraceptive counseling has at times overshadowed patient preference 25–28 . Clinicians may see individuals selecting an arm implant or IUD as a contraceptive success, but the participants’ stories in this study paint a more complex picture.…”

Do users of long-acting reversible contraceptives receive the same counseling content as other modern method users? A cross-sectional, multi-country analysis of women's experiences with the Method Information Index in six sub-Saharan African countries

“…We also note that the MII and MII+ were designed to capture only a small portion of the elements of informed choice. Neither measure, for example, captures outcomes related to counseling bias,which research has shown is of particular salience to LARC methods [ 37 , 38 ]. Further exploration into how to accurately measure other aspects of informed choice beyond content discussed during counseling, as well as other domains of contraceptive autonomy, is an essential next step in understanding quality of care and autonomous decision-making in family planning.…”

“Post-Roe” Abortion Policy Context Heightens the Imperative for Multilevel, Comprehensive, Integrated Health Education

“…Young and lower income people, and Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, may be more likely to lack timely access to accurate, critical care information and resulting health opportunities as suggested by countless historical and present-day reproductive injustices and abuse in which marginalized groups were given treatments or interventions without their informed consent ( Kathawa & Arora, 2020 ; Roberts, 1997 ). Evaluations of contraceptive and pregnancy options counseling also reflect racial, income, and age biases ( Dehlendorf et al, 2010 ; Higgins et al, 2016 ; Mann et al, 2022 ; Nobel et al, 2022 ). Such systemic discrimination is tied to inequities in pregnancy and childbirth outcomes to include disproportionately high rates of Black infant and maternal morbidity and mortality ( Hardeman et al, 2020 ).…”