A US nationally representative sample of nurse practitioners in primary care and women's health was surveyed in 2009 (response rate 69%, n = 586) to assess clinician knowledge and practices, guided by the CDC US Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use.<h4 class="h4">Resultsh4>
Two-thirds of women's health NPs (66%) were trained in IUD insertions, compared to 12% of primary care NPs. Contraceptive counseling that routinely included IUDs was low overall (43%). Nurse practitioners used overly restrictive patient eligibility criteria, inconsistent with CDC guidelines. Insertion training (aOR = 2.4, 95%CI: 1.10 5.33) and knowledge of patient eligibility (aOR = 2.9, 95%CI: 1.91 4.32) were associated with IUD provision. Contraceptive implant provision was low: 42% of NPs in women's health and 10% in primary care. Half of NPs desired training in these methods.<h4 class="h4">Conclusionh4>
Nurse practitioners have an increasingly important position in addressing high unintended pregnancy in the US, but require specific training in long-acting reversible contraceptives.