Inadequate Contraceptive Information Hinders Equity in Reproductive Care

Information regarding contraceptive access is critical to patients’ reproductive autonomy, according to findings of a study published in Women’s Health Issues.¹ However, access to information has been notably ignored, hindering 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. This politicization has occurred through, for example, 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 wishing to provide SRH services.⁴

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 enables patients 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 respondents had adequate information for contraceptive decision-making. They compared patients’ perceptions of their available information with the various personal details that patients provided in the survey. This included sexual orientation, relationship status, insurance coverage, use of contraception, and employment status, among others.

The final analysis featured 3037 respondents (53.1% White; 26.9% aged between 18 and 24 years). Of the total sample, 96.9% were heterosexual women. 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 [one-fourth] 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-[fourths] 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, such occurrences highlight the need for providers and health care settings to bolster access to this pertinent information.

While access to reproductive services is important for women worldwide, the 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 not need to seek critical SRH services.

According to the authors, future research 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

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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. Women's Health Issues. 2025;35(4):233-244. doi: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 US. 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;12(11):e063870. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-063870