Dr. Megan Kavanaugh found that avenues for decreasing the gap between contraceptive methods used and those preferred to be used may lie with healthcare providers and funding streams that support the delivery of contraceptive care. 23% of participants reported preferring to use a method other than their current method, ranging from 17% in Iowa to 26% in New Jersey. Those using emergency contraception and fertility awareness-based methods had some of the highest levels of unfulfilled contraceptive preferences, while pills, condoms, partner vasectomy, and IUDs were identified as the most preferred methods. Reasons for not using preferred contraceptive methods fell largely into one of two buckets: system-level or interpersonal/individual reasons.
