More men are visiting NHS community contraception clinics according to a report issued today (29 October) by The Information Centre for health and social care. 117,000 men attended a clinic in the past year, an increase of 48 per cent over the last decade.
Despite this increase, the vast majority of people who attend clinics are women - 1.1 million. The study, NHS Contraceptive Services England 2006/07, looks at the numbers of people attending NHS community contraception clinics (formerly family planning clinics). It does not include any services provided by GP practices or consultants in out-patient clinics.
The report also shows that increasing numbers of women are using implants, the jab' and other long-acting reversible contraception to prevent pregnancy. More than one-in-five (21 per cent) of the women who visited NHS community contraception clinics in 2006-2007 for contraception chose long-acting birth control, compared with 18 per cent in 2003/04*. Long-acting reversible contraceptives are methods which the user does not have to use either daily (as with the pill) or for each act of sexual intercourse (as with condoms).
Other findings in the report include
Some 1.2 million people attended a community contraception clinic during the year, with the number of visits during the year falling four per cent from 2.6 million to 2.5 million. Of all the women attending clinics, seven per cent were aged 15 or under. Ten years ago this figure was six per cent. An estimated eight per cent of all girls aged 13 - 15 visited a community contraception clinic during the year. The peak age group for clinic attendance was 16 to 19 year-olds, with an estimated one in five women in this age group visiting a clinic during 2006-7. The report also reveals emergency contraception was issued by clinics on 160,000 occasions in 2006/07 - a fall of seven per cent from the previous year and a reflection of its availability over the counter in pharmacies since 2001. The number of women opting for sterilisations is in decline, with 18,400 procedures in 2004-5 compared to 49,000 in 1995-96. Oral contraception remains the most popular form of contraception among women, accounting for 46 per cent of female contraceptive use. The figure has fallen over the past decade from 48 per cent.
The ICs acting chief executive Tim Straughan said: Todays statistics show how NHS community contraception clinics and clinics run by the voluntary sector play an important role in providing a wide range of contraceptive services for both men and women and it is interesting to see that an increasing number of men are now using these services.
A full version of the report can be found at: www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/nhscontra0607
Todays report from The IC complements the Office for National Statistics Omnibus Survey on contraception and sexual health which is also issued today. Full details can be found on the ONS website at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=6988
*A time-series for data relating to long acting reversible contraceptives is not available prior to 2003/04.
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