Sexual and reproductive healthcare access on a Utah campus: Student perceptions, barriers, and support for a pharmaceutical vending machine.

Abstract

Objectives: For college students, healthcare access and academic success are closely related. We investigated students' perceptions of accessing healthcare products, including emergency contraception (EC), the barriers they face accessing products, and support for an on-campus vending machine. Participants: This study was conducted with students at a public university in Utah, in the United States. Methods: We used a survey to assess students' perceived comfort, ability to obtain, and importance of accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH), general healthcare, and menstrual products. Results: Students perceived access to all health products as important but hard to obtain. Those who had used EC reported SRH products as more important and found the vending machine to be of value compared to those who had not used EC. Participants reported barriers to access and advocated for an on-campus vending machine. Conclusions: Results show a significant need for accessible healthcare, especially SRH, on college campuses.