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E Kosunen

Publications and source records attributed to E Kosunen.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Quality of contraceptive services in Finland.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the quality of contraceptive services in Finland varies by the type of care provider. DESIGN: A cross sectional questionnaire survey. PARTICIPANTS: A random sample of 3000 Finnish women aged 18-44 years (response rate 74%) in 1994. RESULTS: Almost all women (94%) had used contraception at some time and 75% were current users. Although self care was common (29% had obtained their latest method outside the health services), 83% had sometimes used the health services for contraception. For their last visit, 55% of women had chosen a health centre (a publicly administered and funded health service), and 33% a private unit. In the health centre, the care provider was usually a general practitioner or a public health nurse, whereas in private care the providers were gynaecologists. Women who used private care were more likely to be from higher social classes and urban areas. After adjustment for a women's background, the two groups were similar for most indicators of the quality of care, but access to care and woman's experiences of treatment were better with private care. CONCLUSIONS: In terms of availability and choices the current system of contraceptive services in Finland is adequate. It is not always an integral part of municipal primary health care, and many women prefer private care for gynaecological services; this may case problems of comprehensiveness and equality of care.

Adolescent↗

Factors related to choosing oral contraception at age 15.

This report aims to identify factors which are related to use of oral contraceptives at an early age. A self-administered questionnaire was completed at schools in 1988 and 1992 in southern and western Finland (N = 1339). Sexually experienced girls (mean age 15.8 years) who had answered the question concerning their oral contraceptive use were included (N = 389). Logistic regression analysis was used to compare oral contraceptive users (N = 121) with the group of non-users. Total number of coital experiences was associated with oral contraceptive use: the odds ratio for those having at least 10 coital experiences was 6.30 compared with those with only one intercourse. The proportion was 73% among oral contraceptive users and 30% among non-users. Girls using oral contraceptives perceived more often (67%) that parents accept their sexual relationship (30% among non-users). Oral contraceptive users were less afraid of getting pregnant (9% compared with 31% among non-users) and felt more often that sex was very important in their life (31 and 13%, respectively). Other factors that entered the model were age at menarche, having a steady partner and frequency of disco visits. When a young girl asks for oral contraceptives, she is probably at true risk of pregnancy, and regular contraception should be considered both in view of effective prevention of pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

Adolescent↗