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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 July 2008
A national study of the Iran family planning programme is yet to be undertaken. This paper reports clinic continuation rates and causes of drop-out among Iranian pill acceptors based on patient records at three selected clinics in Shiraz and Marvdasht. All three clinics were shown to have a cumulative continuation rate of over 50% up to 1 year. Causes of clinic drop-out varied between rural and urban pill users by time of acceptance and by the acceptors’ background characteristics. The probability of drop-out for unreported reasons was related to level of motivation. The effect of follow-up by clinic motivators was clearly demonstrated in the temporal pattern of drop-out among rural acceptors. The probability of drop-out for medical side effects was related to knowledge about them and users’ own experience. Risk of accidental pregnancy was seen to reduce as pill users gained experience.