'Organisation of contraceptive care' and attitudes among healthcare providers in two Swedish cities with different socio-demographic profiles.

OBJECTIVE To compare contraceptive services provided by family planning clinics in Linköping and Norrköping in Östergötland County, Sweden. The two cities are of similar size but have different socio-demographic profiles. The abortion rate in Linköping (15.3 per 1000) is substantially lower than in Norrköping (21.1 per 1000). METHODS The study was performed in two steps. First, the clinics providing contraceptive services in the two cities were studied using ten pre-defined quality indicators. Thereafter, 11 healthcare providers were interviewed: six in Linköping and five in Norrköping. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS No differences were found in the organisation of contraceptive care in the two cities. Neither city met the criteria for five of the ten quality indicators. The analysis of the interviews generated four themes: 'Guidelines and electronic record template', 'Criteria for good contraceptive counselling', 'Availability of contraception', and 'Sexual health'. The interviews revealed that the clinical leadership in Norrköping was insufficient. CONCLUSION Clinics in the two cities are organised in the same way so that differences in abortion rates cannot be related to differences in organisation. The reasons for the differences in abortion rates in the two cities have yet to be determined.