Dr Melissa Harris

© 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Australian women use less effective, short-term methods of contraception more often than any other method, despite the availability of much more effective long-acting reversible contraception (LARC). Although research examining the low uptake of LARC among Australian women has increased over the past few years, we still know little about the factors influencing this phenomenon. Using data from semi-structured telephone interviews with 15 Australian women in their 20s, this paper explores contraceptive experience to better understand the non-use of LARC. Findings highlight the ubiquity of the use of the oral contraceptive pill and perceptions of LARC as a more serious contraceptive choice. Among participants, the intrauterine device (IUD) was viewed particularly unfavourably. Furthermore, LARC was shown to be only considered for use after dissatisfaction with shorter-term methods (usually the Pill) if at all. Overall, these findings suggest further education in dispelling myths and discomfort around LARC use, while simultaneously recognising and respecting women¿s decisions to not use LARC methods.

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. Objective: To develop a greater understanding of the motivators of contraceptive method change over time for young Australian women, with a particular interest in long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) use. Method: Free-text comments from the Contraceptive Use, Pregnancy Intention and Decisions (CUPID) Study were used to explore the reasons for contraceptive method change among women who reported one or more contraceptive changes across the three CUPID surveys. Results: 512 women reported making at least one contraceptive method change, with 740 comments explaining these changes between them. Participants reported a multitude of reasons motivating their contraceptive change. Five key themes were developed to explain these motivators: the natural, sexual and fertile body, specific contraceptive characteristics and other important people. Findings suggest that women's decisions to switch or discontinue a contraceptive depended largely on her ability (and desire) to juggle its impact on her sexual, fertile and natural body. Importantly, the transient and fluid nature of contraceptive practices were demonstrated, as the women adjusted their method to suit their needs at the time. Conclusion: Regarding LARC use, these findings suggest that rather than being appealing, the ¿temporarily permanent¿ nature of these methods may be unappealing and incongruent with the needs of some women.

© 2018 Article author(s). Background Although it is known that pregnancy intention impacts contraceptive use, there has been little exploration into the relationship between pregnancy intention and long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) non-use in the Australian context. Methods Semi-structured telephone interviews with a sample of participants from the Contraceptive Use, Pregnancy Intention and Decisions (CUPID) Study were conducted in 2016. Results Of the 59 women contacted, 15 participated in an interview. One theme arising from these interviews is reported here. Results from the analysis suggest that women with ambivalent or unclear plans toward pregnancy were less likely to perceive LARC as a suitable method for them. Conversely, women who clearly intended to avoid pregnancy and who had clear plans for future pregnancy valued these methods, and often framed their future plans for pregnancy within the context of their chosen LARC. Conclusions Findings presented demonstrated the complex relationship between pregnancy intention and contraceptive use. In particular, this study provided insight into the complex notion of pregnancy ambivalence. Dichotomous definitions of pregnancy as intended or unintended were found to be inadequate in encapsulating actual reproductive experiences.

Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved. Background: By 2050, adults aged 80 years and over will represent around 20% of the global population. Little is known about how adults surviving into very old age use hospital services over time. Objective: The objective of the study was to examine patterns of hospital usage over a 10-year period for women who were aged 84 to 89 in 2010 and examine factors associated with increased use. Methods: Survey data from 1936 women from the 1921 to 1926 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health were matched with the state-based Admitted Patients Data Collection. Hospital use profiles were determined using repeated measures latent class analysis. Results: Four latent class trajectories were identified. One-quarter of the sample were at low risk of hospitalization, while 20.6% demonstrated increased risk of hospitalization and a further 38.1% had moderate hospitalization risk over time. Only 16.8% of the sample was classified as having high hospitalization risk. Correlates of hospital use for very old women differed according to hospital use class and were contingent on the timing of exposure (ie, short-term or long-term). Conclusions: Despite the perception that older adults place a significant burden on health care systems, the majority of women demonstrated relatively low hospital use over an extended period, even in the presence of chronic health conditions. High hospitalization risk was found to be concentrated among a small minority of these long-term survivors. The findings suggest the importance of service planning and treatment regimes that take account of the diverse trajectories of hospital use into and through advanced old age.

© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Objective To explore the characteristics of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) users in a nationally representative cohort of young Australian women aged 18¿23. Methods Data from 3155 women who responded to a question about their contraceptive use in the previous six months at the baseline Contraceptive Use, Pregnancy Intention and Decisions (CUPID) survey were included. Results 726 (19.1%) women reported LARC use, with the Implanon being the most popular method (n¿=¿478; 65.8%). A history of pregnancy was strongly associated with increased odds of LARC use in the multivariate model (OR¿=¿2.67, 95% CI¿=¿2.11, 3.34, p¿=¿0.001). Comparatively, using contraception for reasons other than pregnancy prevention was associated with decreased odds of LARC use in the multivariate model (period management: OR¿=¿0.74, 95% CI¿=¿0.60, 0.91, p¿=¿0.004, body management: OR¿=¿0.53, 95% CI¿=¿0.37, 0.77, p¿=¿0.001, medical condition: OR¿=¿0.25, 95% CI¿=¿0.09, 0.66, p¿=¿0.005). Highest education and Medicare card status also contributed to the final multivariate model, and were associated with decreased odds of LARC use. Conclusion Reproductive history and reasons for contraceptive use are strong indications of method choice. Promoting LARC as highly effective may not be a sufficient incentive for young women to take up the method when pregnancy prevention may be equal or secondary to their desired non-contraceptive effects.

© 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. There are increasing concerns regarding high hospital use among older adults and the capacity to manage the economic impact of the ageing population trend on healthcare systems. First hospitalisation in old age may act as a catalyst for ongoing intensification of health problems and acute care use. This study examined factors associated with first incident hospitalisation in women aged over 70, accounting for the health inequalities associated with geographic location. Survey data from 3780 women from the 1921 to 1926 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health were matched with the Admitted Patients Data Collection and National Death Index. Days to first event (hospitalisation or death) were modelled using competing risks methods. A total of 3065 (80.3%) women had at least one hospital admission. More than half of the top 15 reasons for first hospitalisation were related to cardiovascular disease, with atrial fibrillation the most common. Proportional subdistribution hazards models showed that first hospital admission was driven by enabling and need factors including asthma/bronchitis diagnosis (HR = 1.16; p = 0.047), private health insurance (HR = 1.16; p = 0.004) more than two prescribed medications in previous month (HR = 1.31; p = 0.001), more than four general practitioner visits in previous year (HR = 1.50; p = 0.034), lower physical functioning (HR = 0.99; p < 0.001) and living in an inner regional area (HR = 1.17; p = 0.003). First overnight hospitalisation was primarily related with potentially preventable and treatable chronic diseases. Primary and secondary strategies aimed at chronic disease generally, and better chronic disease management particularly for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, may play a vital role in disease prevention or delay in readmissions among this population.

© 2015 Taylor & Francis. New developments in female contraceptives allow women increased options for preventing pregnancy, while men¿s options for reversible contraception have not advanced beyond the condom. There has been little discursive exploration of how neoliberal and postfeminist discourses shape women¿s accounts of choosing whether or not to use contraception. Our thematic discourse analysis of 760 free-text responses to a question about contraceptive choice considers the social and political climate that promotes the self-governed woman who freely chooses contraception. We examine the ways in which women formulated and defended their accounts of choice, focusing on the theme of free contraceptive choice that constructed women¿s choices as unconstrained by material, social and political forces. We identify two discursive strategies that underpinned this theme: a woman¿s body, a woman¿s choice and planning parenthood, and explore the ways in which choice was understood as a gendered entitlement and how contraceptive choices were shaped (and constrained) by women¿s plans for parenthood. We discuss the implications of these discursive strategies, and neoliberal and postfeminist discourses, in terms of the disallowance of any contextual, social and structural factors, including the absence of men in the ¿contraceptive economy¿.

© 2016 CSIRO. Little research examining qualities of contraception that make them attractive or unattractive to users, particularly young women, exists. The aim of this study is to systemically review the evidence regarding desirable and undesirable qualities of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), including intrauterine devices, the implant and the injection, as perceived by women. Five electronic databases were searched in May 2015 using terms related to LARC and method preference or decision-making. Studies were included if they concerned women aged 18-23 years from developed countries and reported on perceived positive or negative qualities of LARC. Thirty articles were deemed relevant. Five key themes emerged under which qualities were categorised; including: (1) impact on bleeding; (2) impact on the body; (3) device-specific characteristics; (4) general characteristics; and (5) perceptions and misbeliefs. Fit and forget, high efficacy and long-term protection were considered the top desirable qualities of LARC. Undesirable qualities varied among the LARC methods; however, irregular bleeding, painful insertion and removal procedure, weight gain and location in the body were among those most commonly reported. The contraceptive benefits of LARC, including their high efficacy and longevity, are generally considered to be positive qualities by women, while the potential impact of side-effects on the body are considered as negative qualities. This information is crucial in the clinical setting as it provides practitioners with a greater understanding of the qualities women do and do not like about LARC methods. Discussion about these qualities, positive and negative, during consultations about contraception may increase rates of uptake.

© 2015 The Author. Recruitment of young people for epidemiologic research remains challenging, with marked decreases in the effectiveness of face-to-face, mail, and telephone recruitment methods. We report on the implementation and feasibility of an innovative and flexible approach used to recruit participants for a longitudinal cohort study about contraceptive use and pregnancy (the Contraceptive Use, Pregnancy Intention, and Decisions (CUPID) Study). Australian women aged 18-23 years were recruited using a range of online, networking, and offline methods, including social media (primarily Facebook (Facebook Inc., Menlo Park, California; http://www.facebook.com)), face-to-face events, distribution of promotional material, and media releases. Over the course of the 1-year recruitment period (beginning in September 2012), a total of 3,795 eligible women were recruited to complete the online survey, at a cost of approximately A$11 per participant. This sample was found to be broadly representative of the Australian population of women aged 18-23 years in terms of demographic characteristics, with the exception of an overrepresentation of tertiary-educated women (88.7% compared with 72.6%). This study demonstrated that although current recruitment strategies are required to be innovative and flexible in order to engage young people in epidemiologic research, representative samples can be achieved online at reasonable cost.

© 2015 Harris et al. Objective: To qualify the psychosocial burden of osteoarthritis for older women and identify factors perceived to assist with psychological adjustment to the disease. Methods: Women who indicated being diagnosed/treated for osteoarthritis in the previous three years in the fifth survey of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health provided the sampling frame. Participants were randomly sampled until saturation was reached using a systematic process. Thematic content analysis was applied to the 19 semi-structured telephone interviews using a realist framework. Results: The findings indicate that the emotional burden of osteoarthritis is considerable, and the process of psychological adjustment complex. Older women with osteoarthritis have psychological difficulties associated with increasing pain and functional impairment. Psychological adjustment over time was attributed primarily to cognitive and attitudinal factors (e.g. stoicism, making downward comparisons and possessing specific notions about the cause of arthritis). This was a dynamic 'day to day' process involving a constant struggle between grieving physical losses and increasing dependence amidst symptom management. Conclusion: The findings of this study add to the current understanding of the complex processes involved in psychological adjustment over time. Targeted interventions focused on assisting women with arthritis redefine self-concepts outside the confines of caring responsibilities, coupled with public health education programs around understanding the destructive nature of arthritis are required. Understanding the destructive and (potentially) preventable nature of arthritis may facilitate early detection and increased uptake of appropriate treatment options for osteoarthritis that have the ability to modify disease trajectories.