Abstract
Background
Rural populations face unique health disparities that prevent women from accessing reproductive health care services. Telehealth initiatives offer a health care delivery tool to increase access to contraception.
Objective
To understand women’s contraceptive needs and perceptions of accessing contraception through telehealth services.
Methods
Researchers conducted 52 in-depth interviews with women ages 18–44 years living in five rural counties in South Carolina from May to July 2015. Researchers employed constant comparative data analysis using HyperRESEARCH 3.7.2.
Results
Most participants identified as Black (62%) or White (28%). Findings suggest successful telehealth interventions should accommodate women’s complex and nuanced community views, including benefits and barriers of telehealth, to improve access to contraceptive methods in rural locations. In addition, telehealth initiatives should frame contraception as contributing to women’s overall health and well-being.
Conclusions for Practice
Telehealth initiatives may address barriers to contraceptive access in rural locations. Findings from this study offer theoretical and practical opportunities to guide telehealth interventions that support and empower women’s access to contraceptive methods in rural areas.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the College of Charleston’s Women’s Health Research Team for their support throughout the data collection and writing process. The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from Choose Well and the New Morning Foundation in the form of a graduate research assistantship.
Funding
This research was supported in part by the College of Charleston’s Faculty Research and Development Grant, Health and Human Performance Research and Development Grant, Humanities and Social Sciences Dean’s Discretionary Funds, and the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities.
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Sundstrom, B., DeMaria, A.L., Ferrara, M. et al. “The Closer, the Better:” The Role of Telehealth in Increasing Contraceptive Access Among Women in Rural South Carolina. Matern Child Health J 23, 1196–1205 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-019-02750-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-019-02750-3