The impact of disasters on contraception in OECD member countries: a scoping review

Abstract

Objectives: Review evidence is lacking about how contraception is affected by severe social disruption, such as that caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this scoping review was to explore the impact of natural and man-made disasters on contraception in OECD member countries. Methods: Manual searches and systematic searches in six electronic databases were conducted with no language restrictions. All articles were screened by at least two researchers. The data were analysed thematically. Results: 108 articles were included. Most focussed on the Zika virus outbreak (n ¼ 50) and the COVID-19 pandemic (n ¼ 28). Four key themes were identified: importance of contraception during disasters, impact of disasters on contraceptive behaviour, barriers to contraception during disasters and ways of improving use of contraception during disasters. Despite efforts to increase access to contraception including by transforming ways of delivery, barriers to use meant that unmet need persisted. Conclusions: To prevent adverse health outcomes and reduce health costs as a result of failure to have access to contraception during disasters, there is a need to intensify efforts to remove barriers to use. This should include increasing access and information on methods of contraception and their side effects (e.g., menstrual suppression) and making contraception freely available.

Change in childbearing intention, use of contraception, unwanted pregnancies, and related adverse events during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from a panel study in rural Burkina Faso

“…Evidence on the impact of critical situations or events on childbearing preferences and demand for contraception is scarce [32]. Some studies suggest that these fertility indicators PLOS GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH can be affected by financial hardship in the household, humanitarian crises, escalations of violence and displacement, or immediate threats to mothers or fetuses, as observed during the Zika epidemic [32][33][34][35]. Besides acute crises, studies conducted in various African settings have also noted that uncertainty and fear are driving factors of postponing or avoiding a pregnancy [34,36,37].…”

Trends and Factors Associated with Oral Contraceptive Use among Korean Women

“…Studies have provided evidence of the long-lasting negative psychological impact of this disaster, manifested as depressive symptoms and anxiety not only among the victims’ families and community residents, but also in the Korean population as a whole [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Previous studies have reported that social disasters affect contraceptive behavior, and that depressive symptoms may affect methods of contraception [ 26 , 27 ]. In addition, a recent study reported that social disasters significantly reduce the fertility rate for a fairly long period of time [ 28 ].…”

Drawing the Linkage Between Women’s Reproductive Health, Climate Change, Natural Disaster, and Climate-driven Migration: Focusing on Low- and Middle-income Countries - A Systematic Overview

“…This is in accord with reviews conducted by Freed et al , stating various negative effects. [ 53 ] It is important to point out that the review had a similar methodology and scanned similar electronic databases. The objective is similar but narrower in terms of the type of natural calamity focused.…”