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Important but Incomplete: Plan B as an Avenue for Post-assault Care

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Abstract

Many survivors of rape do not seek post-assault care. The recent change in status of emergency contraception (EC), such as Plan B, to an over-the-counter (OTC) product may be further changing post-assault care seeking. This descriptive study will quantify OTC EC use in the post-assault period and elicit survivors’ desires for care. Data were collected from women purchasing OTC EC at university pharmacies (n = 55) and students in an undergraduate university class (n = 165). Quantitative results indicate annual prevalence rates of post-assault OTC EC use as 5.4–7.3 %. Qualitative analyses indicate that OTC EC is an important but incomplete form of post-assault care. Future work should focus on intervention development to provide all OTC EC users with information about post-assault resources to prevent long-term sequelae.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the university health service pharmacies that participated for their assistance with recruitment and data collection including those that wish to be named: University of Michigan—University Health Service, Eastern Michigan University Snow Health Center Pharmacy, and the Western Michigan University Sindecuse Pharmacy.

Funding

The first author gratefully acknowledges grant support by the National Institutes of Health, National Institutes for Nursing Research, F31NR012852, the Midwest Nursing Research Society and Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science Dissertation Grant, the Rho Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau International Research Award, the University of Michigan Rackham Dissertation Grant, and the University of Michigan Women’s Studies Thevenet Award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, University of Michigan, 400 N. Ingalls, Room 3188, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Michelle L. Munro & Julia S. Seng

  2. Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Kristy K. Martyn

  3. Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Rebecca Campbell

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Sandra Graham-Bermann

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  1. Michelle L. Munro
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  2. Kristy K. Martyn
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  5. Julia S. Seng
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Correspondence to Michelle L. Munro.

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Munro, M.L., Martyn, K.K., Campbell, R. et al. Important but Incomplete: Plan B as an Avenue for Post-assault Care. Sex Res Soc Policy 12, 335–346 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-015-0204-y

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