Women's Experience, Satisfaction, and Continuation With the Levonogestrel-Containing Intrauterine System: a Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

The levonorgestrel-containing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) is a safe, long-acting, reversible contraceptive method. This study aimed to examine women's experiences, satisfaction, and continuation with the levonorgestrel-containing intrauterine system. This cross-sectional study examined women who had previously used or were still using LNG-IUS at a research hospital between October 2023 and March 2024. The study included 627 randomly sampled women who visited the Women's Health Outpatient Clinic of a Training and Research Hospital in Izmir Province. Inclusion criteria were age between the ages of 18 to 55, using/used LNG-IUS, and no diagnosis of any mental illness. LNG-IUS users were grouped according to the reasons for their use (treatment or contraception), and comparisons were made. A questionnaire was administered to the women after the outpatient examination. Women who did not meet the inclusion criteria and who did not speak Turkish were excluded from the study. A statistically significant difference was found between women's age, educational status, fertility goal, and previous contraceptive method and those who used LNG-IUS for treatment or contraception (P < .05). When the reasons for women's use of LNG-IUS are examined; It was determined that women used it due to menometrorrhea (48.2%), contraception (25.2%), dysmenorrhea (9.4%), myoma uteri (13.4%), and endometriosis (3.8%) Both groups who used LNG-IUS for treatment and contraception were very satisfied (83.6% and 86.1%, respectively) and would consider using LNG-IUS again (96.8%; 94.3%, respectively). The results showed that Women were satisfied with the use of LNG-IUS as both a treatment and contraceptive method. In this regard, conducting multicenter, quantitative, and qualitative studies that can also reflect the cultural characteristics of women's experiences with LNG-IUS may be recommended.