Sammanfattning
Background: The combined oral contraceptive pill is the most widely used contraceptive in
Norway, and the public health nurse is a significant prescriber of contraception for young girls.
Knowledge about contraception is important in order to have competence in sexual situations.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate young girls’ need for information related to
oral contraceptive use, and to compare the information needs of the youngest and the oldest group of
girls to whom the public health nurse prescribes contraception.
Method: The study had a descriptive design where data was collected retrospectively from an
internet-based database and analysed using quantitative content analysis. A total of 500 inquiries
about oral contraception were collected from the website Klara Klok. Chi-square test was used to
compare data from 16 and 19 year old girls.
Results: The results of this study show that young girls have the greatest need for information
relating to the category ‘Hemorrhage and Bleeding disorders’ in addition to ‘Contraception Effects’. In
addition, significant differences were found between 16 and 19 year olds, in the categories of
‘Contraceptive Efficacy’ and ‘Harmless side effects’.
Conclusion: Young girls may have complex information needs when using oral contraception. Public
health nurses have an important role of informing and following up on young oral contraception
users, and should be knowledgeable about the different information needs that may arise from the
use of contraception.