Telemedicine for Adolescent and Young Adult Long-Acting Reversible Contraception Post-insertion Visits: Outcomes over 1 Year.
STUDY OBJECTIVE
Telemedicine for long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) care is understudied given the rapid implementation of these services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We compared outcomes over 1 year of adolescents and young adults (AYAs) attending a LARC post-insertion visit via telemedicine vs in person.
DESIGN
Longitudinal cohort study.
SETTING
Four academic adolescent medicine clinics in the United States.
PARTICIPANTS
AYAs (ages 13-26 years) who received LARC between 4/1/20 and 3/1/21 and attended a post-insertion visit within 12 weeks.
INTERVENTIONS
none.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Outcomes over 1 year were compared between AYAs who completed this visit via telemedicine vs in person. We analyzed the data using descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, and regression models.
RESULTS
Of 194 AYAs (ages 13.9-25.7 years) attending a post-insertion visit, 40.2% utilized telemedicine. Menstrual management (odds ratio (OR) = 1.02; confidence interval (CI): 0.40-2.60), acne management (P = .28), number of visits attended (relative risk (RR) = 1.08; CI: 0.99-1.19), and LARC removal (P = .95) were similar between groups. AYAs attending via telemedicine were less likely than those attending in person to have STI testing (P = .001). Intrauterine device expulsion or malposition and arm symptoms with implant in situ were rare outcomes in both groups.
CONCLUSION
Roughly 40% of AYAs attended a post-insertion visit via telemedicine during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and had similar 1-year outcomes as those attending in person. The decreased likelihood of STI testing for those using telemedicine highlights the need to provide alternative options, when indicated, such as asynchronous or home testing. Our results support the use of telemedicine for AYA LARC post-insertion care and identify potential gaps in telemedicine care which can help improve clinic protocols.