Inadequate Contraceptive Information Hinders Equity in Reproductive Care

Information regarding contraceptive access is critical to patients’ reproductive autonomy, according to a study published in Women’s Health Issues.¹ However, access to information has been notably ignored, causing a hindrance in equity and autonomy for reproductive health care.

“Information is a critical component of person-centered health care access, as having adequate and appropriate information is necessary to establish one's sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs and access relevant services to meet those needs,” wrote the authors of the study. “Access to information is especially important in the context of personal, politicized, and stigmatized issues, such as contraception.”

Since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization 2022 decision, issues regarding contraception and SRH have come to the forefront of women’s health.² As researchers mentioned, SRH services have become notably politicized and stigmatized. The politicization of the issue has occurred through things like the religious beliefs of various industry and legislative leaders.³ Stigmas have also increased since the Dobbs decision, aimed at patients seeking contraception and providers’ desire to provide SRH services.⁴

If information regarding these services is unavailable or significantly lacking, patients may find no need to seek critical SRH services. | image credit: Vasiliy / stock.adobe.com

Amid these challenges surrounding SRH, contraceptive self-determination has become an important idea in relation to the access available for reproductive services. According to the authors, this self-determination gives patients the ability to make an educated decision based on accessible and sufficient information on the benefits and risks of use or nonuse of contraceptives.

READ MORE: Patients Must Seek Pharmacists, Other Providers For Reproductive Health as Abortion Clinics Close

“A person-centered approach prioritizes the values, preferences, and experiences of individuals as they navigate decisions,” they continued.¹ “This study presents a new person-centered metric of contraceptive access: the perception of having enough information to choose a contraceptive method.”

Using NORC at the University of Chicago’s data from the AmeriSpeak panel, researchers fielded results of a national online survey featuring patients 15 to 44 years old assigned female sex at birth. The survey was conducted between January and March of 2022.

The survey helped researchers understand whether or not respondents had the adequate information for contraceptive decision-making. They compared patients’ perception of their available information with the various respondent characteristics patients provided in the survey. These characteristics included things like sexual orientation, relationship status, insurance coverage, use of contraception, and employment status, among others.

The final analysis featured a total of 3037 respondents (53.1% white; 26.9% between 18 and 24 years old). Of the total sample, 96.9% were women of straight/heterosexual orientation. Furthermore, 62.4% had commercial insurance and 47.7% were working in full-time roles.

Regarding the main outcome of patients’ perception of having enough contraceptive information, 73.5% of the population said they did have enough information, 11.8% said they did not, and 14.7% were unsure.

“Among 15- to 44-year-olds in the US assigned female sex at birth, more than a quarter felt they did not have enough information to make a decision about the contraceptive method(s) that are best for them or were unsure, translating to an estimated 12.6 million people,” wrote the authors.¹ “Although most people (nearly three-quarters in our sample) felt they had adequate information to make contraceptive decisions, our data indicate meaningful inequities in perception of having enough information based on sociodemographic characteristics, including age, sexual orientation, educational attainment, and insurance status.”

One of the more notable findings within this study is how respondents with past experiences of poor SRH care were more likely to report inefficient access to contraceptive information. Alongside the sheer inadequacy of contraceptive information uncovered in this analysis, occurrences like this highlight the need for providers and health care settings to bolster access to this pertinent information.

While access to reproductive services themselves is important for women across the world, researchers of the current study took a step back and addressed the issues regarding general information on the topic. If information regarding these services is unavailable or significantly lacking, patients may find no need to seek critical SRH services.

Future research, according to the authors, should explore ways in which the health care sector can improve access to this information.

“Perceived lack of information is an inequity that interferes with individuals’ ability to pursue their personal SRH goals and experience reproductive autonomy,” they concluded.¹ “It is imperative to identify strategies to ensure people have access to the information they feel they need to make decisions about contraception.”

READ MORE: Women’s Health Resource Center

Are you ready to elevate your pharmacy practice? Sign up today for our free Drug Topics newsletter and get the latest drug information, industry trends, and patient care tips, straight to your inbox.

REFERENCES

1. Bennett AH, Schulte A, Arcara J, et al. Perception of having enough information to make contraceptive decisions: a novel metric of person-centered contraceptive access. WHI. 2025;35(4):233-244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2025.04.003

2. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022). National Constitution Center. 2022. Accessed September 12, 2025. https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/supreme-court-case-library/dobbs-v-jackson-womens-health-organization

3. Rascoe A. How contraception became a political issue among Christians in the U.S. NPR. May 26, 2024. Accessed September 12, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2024/05/26/nx-s1-4977618/how-contraception-became-a-political-issue-among-christians-in-the-u-s

4. Sorhaindo A, Rehnstrom Loi U. Interventions to reduce stigma related to contraception and abortion: a scoping review. BMJ Open. 2022 Nov 17;12(11):e063870. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-063870.