12th International Conference of Pharmaceutical Sciences

The emergency contraceptive (EC) or morning-after pill is a method employed to prevent unwanted pregnancy which can be easily purchased without a prescription (CLAE-FLASOG, 2015; MATSUOKA; GIOTTO, 2019). Thus, it was aimed to characterize the socioeconomic and behavioral profile of EC users in four basic health units from Santarém-PA. 243 women were interviewed, 30.5% were between 18 and 22 years old and 51% had completed high school. 100% reported the use of contraceptive methods and 10.3% reported using only EC. The frequency of EC use varied from once a month (39.9%) to three times a year (8.6%), being unprotected sex (69.5%) the main reason for its use. Only 21% had received professional advice on its use. Adverse effects reported were headache (12.3%), nausea (9.1%), colic (8.6%) and emesis (5.3%). Therefore, the importance of professionals, such as pharmacists, is emphasized in primary health care to promote the correct use of medicines.