Patient-Centered Contraceptive Counseling
Clinical Service Goal
Information and education about contraceptive methods and how to prevent unintended pregnancy is important to share with all adolescent patients. For adolescents who want to delay or prevent pregnancy, counsel about method selection using a patient-centered approach that is respectful of and responsive to each patients’ preferences, needs, and values.
Key Foundations
Strategies related to assessment, policy, and environment
Equipping Teams
Strategies that build clinic staff capacity
Service Delivery
Strategies to strengthen processes, procedures, and systems involved in delivering clinical services
Engaging Adolescent Patients and Families
Strategies to educate and build productive partnerships with adolescents and their families+ (These strategies recognize the important role that parents can play in relation to ASRH, even while protecting confidentiality remains a cornerstone of adolescent care).
Strategies
Key Foundations
Equipping Teams
Implementation Tips
- Consider who on the care team should be trained to deliver contraceptive counseling (e.g., health educators, nurses, medical assistants)
- Build in opportunities for role playing in which staff can practice using new counseling skills
- Include content that covers how to provide counseling in a non-biased manner that is respectful of the patient’s preferences and values
Tools & Resources
Patient-centered Contraceptive Counseling Tools
Health Equity Resources
Service Delivery
Implementation Tips
- Provide staff with ongoing support and structure to reflect and improve upon their delivery of the contraceptive counseling framework
- Patient-centered frameworks that support shared decision-making with the patient can reduce opportunities for bias and coercion
- Use birth control options job aid or demonstrate options to help patient visualize their choices
Tools & Resources
Engaging Adolescent Patients and Families
Implementation tips
- Provide handouts for parents in the waiting room
- Provide a section on the health center website that includes resources for parents
