National Poll Finds Women Want Reproductive Health Services in Pharmacies

Women who live in rural as well as urban areas would like access to preventative reproductive health services in community pharmacies, according to a study published online ahead of print in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association.

“Expanding reproductive health services in community pharmacies is a promising strategy for reaching underserved communities,” wrote a team from the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.

Researchers conducted a cross-sectional national survey of women in November 2020 to gauge interest in essential preventative and diagnostic reproductive health services in community pharmacies and whether attitudes differed in rural and urban settings.

Among 544 women who responded to the survey, preventative reproductive health services in community pharmacies appealed both to women living in rural and urban areas, according to the study.

Rural women were as likely as urban women to delay preventive care because of insurance concerns and how they would pay for services, researchers reported. Rural women were less likely, however, to have received the human papilomavirus vaccine or to have had regular cervical cancer screenings.

“Expanded access to reproductive health services in community pharmacies has the potential to improve access and health screening,” researchers advised, “particularly in underserved rural areas.”

Reference:
Schrote K, Hersh A, Bruegl A, Rodriguez MI. Women’s perspectives on receiving and expanding access to essential health services in pharmacies in the United States [published online ahead of print December 2, 2021]. J Am Pharm Assoc. doi:10.1016/j.japh.2021.11.034