Society of Family Planning Annual Meeting Highlights – Birth Control Pharmacist
The annual meeting of the Society of Family Planning (SFP) was held on October 1St and 2n.d this year with more than a thousand attendees. For those unfamiliar with SFP, it is a community of like-minded people including clinicians, academics, residents, fellows, and students who share a common interest in family planning. SFP values diversity, equality, and the science behind abortion and contraception for all. I had the privilege of attending the meeting as part of the APPE rotation with Dr. Sally Rafie at Birth Control Pharmacist.
There were several highlights of the meeting:
Health Disparities among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
During the conference days, the opening plenary was presented by a group of panelists from around the country on the history that led to health disparities among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) and how future generations can help. of healthcare providers, researchers to address this gap. My favorite part of this presentation was hearing the vulnerability of the children of immigrants, through the lens of the panelists, about their experiences with sexual reproductive health, and how taboo a topic it is to talk about with them. parents or even healthcare providers. . Coming from a family of immigrants, this presentation struck a chord with me and how it resonated with me professionally and personally. Well, they tell my story, and I’m positive that many fellow AAPIs feel the same way. To tell you the least, this plenary made me feel seen and inspired me to advocate for equitable health care among fellow Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (ANHPIs) as an aspiring ambulatory care pharmacist. . For now, the panelists continue to conduct more research to help AANHPIs in the near future regarding access to health care.
Impact of the Pandemic on Access to Care
The pandemic has changed the climate of health care delivery here in the United States. It is a challenge for patients, especially women and BIPOC, to visit their doctor’s office for appointments such as getting their birth control shot. Health care disparities also increased among women during the pandemic, and contraceptive visits also decreased.
The evidence reviewed by Dr. Nguyen at the CDC and colleagues showed that the use of subcutaneous depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-SC) in four studies with self-injection and provider-injection groups resulted in no difference in pregnancy and side effects, including higher continuation rates with self-administered DMPA-SC at 12 months, therefore DMPA-SC should be offered to patients to increase access to reproductive care.
Another group of panelists presented on the impact of tear gas used by law enforcement and reproductive health following racial justice protests in 2020. What they found was that 100% of the participants in their research had health problems due to tear gas, alarmingly, 54.5% had menstrual health changes such as increased bleeding, cramping, and unusual spotting.
Innovations in Abortion Care
The closure of the plenary is nothing short of relatable to what is happening in the country at present; panelists presented self-managed medication abortion in the United States to providers, patients, and seekers. Due to strict state abortion laws and increased distance to abortion clinics, a telemedicine service used to deliver abortion medication has increased by more than 40% over the past two years and has resulted in 96% of successful abortions and only 1% resulted in any serious adverse event. Unrelated to this study, but if pharmacies could provide abortion medication, pharmacists could use their expertise to help alleviate the anxiety and panic faced by patients who want an abortion but cannot access care.
Besides disseminating information about family planning, there were presentations on how to use oral hormonal contraceptives in other health conditions. Additionally, there are numerous presentations on relevant topics such as how to counsel transgender and nonbinary patients on emergency contraceptives, anti-Black racism in obstetrics and gynecology, and more.
Film Screening and Discussion
To close the annual meeting, and in my opinion, one of the many amazing things that happened at this meeting was the community screening of HBO Max’s Not pregnant. This film depicts the struggle of two minor girls who cannot find an abortion clinic in their state that will provide care without parental consent and how religion plays a role in preventing abortion. So, they had to drive from Kansas to New Mexico with almost no resources to get to the clinic.
I hope this article sparks some interest and encourages you to play a part in advocating for reproductive justice.
For more information about the Society of Family Planning, visit https://www.societyfp.org/.
About the Author
Quyen Nguyen, PharmD Candidate 2022, is currently studying at St. John Fisher College Wegmans School of Pharmacy in Rochester, New York. He is a member of APhA and the Treasurer for the Club for Advancing Interprofessional Practice and Education (CAIPE). In this role, she works with other student healthcare professionals to help underserved patients in her community.
