One Key Question® and the Desire to Avoid Pregnancy Scale: A comparison of two approaches to asking about pregnancy preferences

Debra B Stulberg; Avisek Datta; Emily White VanGompel; Kellie Schueler; Corinne H Rocca

doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2019.12.010

One Key Question® and the Desire to Avoid Pregnancy Scale: A comparison of two approaches to asking about pregnancy preferences

Contraception. 2020 Apr;101(4):231-236. doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2019.12.010. Epub 2020 Jan 11.

Authors

Debra B Stulberg¹, Avisek Datta², Emily White VanGompel³, Kellie Schueler⁴, Corinne H Rocca⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Family Medicine, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Ave, MC 7110, Suite M-156 Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Electronic address: stulberg@uchicago.edu.
² NorthShore Research Institute, NorthShore University HealthSystem, 1001 University Place, Evanston, IL 60201, USA.
³ Department of Family Medicine, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Ave, MC 7110, Suite M-156 Chicago, IL 60637, USA; NorthShore Research Institute, NorthShore University HealthSystem, 1001 University Place, Evanston, IL 60201, USA.
⁴ University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, 924 E 57th St Suite 104, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
⁵ Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 1330 Broadway #1100, Oakland, CA 94612, USA.

PMID: 31935384
DOI: 10.1016/j.contraception.2019.12.010

Abstract

Objective: To facilitate assessment of patients' pregnancy preferences, we compared responses to One Key Question® with the validated Desire to Avoid Pregnancy (DAP) scale and assessed their relationships to patient-reported reproductive health behaviors.

Methods: In this after-visit survey in primary care and obstetrics-gynecology practices, women ages 18-49 (n = 177) answered "Would you like to become pregnant in the next year?" and the 14-item DAP scale. We performed one-way ANOVA to compare DAP scores (0-4 scale, 4 = highest preference to avoid pregnancy) across One Key Question® responses ("Yes," "Unsure," "Ok either way," "No but sometime in the future," "No never"). We used logistic regression to test association of One Key Question® and DAP with contraceptive and folic acid use.

Results: Most patients did not want to become pregnant in the next year, based on One Key Question® (7% "Yes," 4% "Unsure," 11% "Ok either way," 53% "In the future," 25% "Never"). The mean DAP score overall was 2.52 (SD = 1.03, Range: 0-4, Cronbach's α = 0.96). Scores differed by One Key Question® response ("Yes" mean DAP = 0.84, "Unsure" 1.64, "Ok" 1.42, "In the future" 2.94, "Never" 2.78, p < 0.001) yet varied markedly within each One Key Question® response group. Contraceptive use was lower among those who answered "Yes" (46%; OR = 0.14, 95% CI 0.04-0.48) vs. "No, future" (86%). Similarly, odds of contraceptive use increased with DAP score (OR = 1.69, 9% CI 1.18-2.42; predicted 51% for DAP = 0, 90% for DAP = 4).

Conclusion: One Key Question® responses correlate with DAP scores, and contraceptive use correlates with not desiring pregnancy by both approaches.

Implications statement: One Key Question® and the Desire to Avoid Pregnancy scale can both identify women wishing to avoid pregnancy to help clinicians address patients' contraceptive needs. Given the range of preferences associated with One Key Question® responses, clinicians who use it should proceed with further discussion to fully understand patients' feelings.

Keywords: Contraceptive counseling; Preconception counseling; Pregnancy intention; Pregnancy preference; Reproductive life plan.

Publication types

Comparative Study

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Contraception / psychology*
Contraception / statistics & numerical data
Family Planning Services
Female
Humans
Intention*
Patient Preference*
Reproductive Health
Surveys and Questionnaires / standards*
Young Adult