Over-the-Counter Sale of Emergency Contraception: A Survey of Pharmacists in Delhi

INTRODUCTION Pharmacists play a key role while dispensing over-the-counter emergency contraception (EC) to the client. AIMS The study aims to evaluate the knowledge and over-the-counter services provided by the pharmacists in Delhi. METHODS A prestructured questionnaire-based survey was conducted in Delhi, the capital city of India. RESULTS Only 60 out of 85 pharmacies approached agreed to participate in the study. Number of packs sold in a month per pharmacy varied from 2 to 500 packs/month. Sixty-two percent of the pharmacists claimed that majority of the clients repeated use during the same month. Only 18% of the clients were referred by doctors while 82% directly approached the pharmacists. Nearly one third of the clients were adolescents. Sixty-seven percent of the pharmacists had adequate knowledge about EC. Only 3.3% asked about the last menstrual period or the time elapsed since the last unprotected intercourse. No pharmacist inquired whether there were one or multiple unprotected acts of intercourse, if any regular contraceptive method was being used, or explored the reason for EC intake. There were 91.7% who explained the dosage schedule to clients. Only half of them explained that the client may experience side effects. None of the pharmacists advised their clients for a sexually transmitted disease screening, and 35% counseled the clients regarding regular contraception. CONCLUSION Improving the quality of services provided by the pharmacists can clear misconceptions of the clients and promote subsequent regular contraception along with precautions to avoid sexually transmitted diseases. Mishra A and Saxena P. Over-the-counter sale of emergency contraception: A survey of pharmacists in Delhi. Sex Med 2013;1:16-20.