abstract: 'Purpose School-based health centers (SBHCs) have traditionally been

  concentrated in urban centers but have increasingly moved to rural and

  suburban settings. Adolescents living outside urban centers continue to

  experience barriers accessing contraceptives and reproductive health

  care. SBHCs are well positioned to reduce these barriers since they

  often offer convenient, in-school reproductive health care services. We

  describe the experiences of adolescents and emerging adults as they

  navigate access to contraceptives at SBHCs and nonschool locations in

  nonurban, low-income communities. Method We interviewed 30 sexually

  active individuals aged 15 to 21 living in rural and suburban

  communities in Colorado where high school SBHCs were recently

  introduced. Participants reflected on their experiences with or without

  in-school access to sexual and reproductive health services. Results

  Overall, young people supported within-school access to contraceptives,

  citing convenience, low cost, and greater confidentiality and privacy

  compared with out-of-school providers, particularly in rural areas. At

  the same time, findings point to the need for SBHCs to overcome

  adolescents'' and emerging adults'' misunderstanding of age requirements

  to access confidential contraceptive services and their remaining

  concerns around confidentiality in the school setting. Conclusions Our

  results indicate that SBHCs in low-income rural and suburban areas

  provide essential contraceptive services that young people access and

  value. Policy makers in nonurban communities should look to the SBHC

  model to reduce barriers for young people accessing reproductive health

  care, and health care providers should work to ensure confidentiality

  and to correct misinformation about their right to access contraceptive

  services.'
affiliation: 'Westbrook, M (Corresponding Author), Univ Colorado Denver, Dept Hlth
  \& Behav Sci, Campus Box 188,POB 173364, Denver, CO 80217 USA.

  Westbrook, Marisa; Martinez, Lisette; Mechergui, Safa; Scandlyn, Jean; Yeatman,
  Sara, Univ Colorado Denver, Denver, CO USA.'
article-number: '15248399211026612'
author: Westbrook, Marisa and Martinez, Lisette and Mechergui, Safa and Scandlyn,
  Jean and Yeatman, Sara
author-email: marisa.westbrook@ucdenver.edu
author_list:
- family: Westbrook
  given: Marisa
- family: Martinez
  given: Lisette
- family: Mechergui
  given: Safa
- family: Scandlyn
  given: Jean
- family: Yeatman
  given: Sara
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1177/15248399211026612
earlyaccessdate: JUL 2021
eissn: 1552-6372
files: []
issn: 1524-8399
journal: HEALTH PROMOTION PRACTICE
keywords: 'school-based health centers; school health; adolescent health;

  reproductive health; contraception; health care access'
keywords-plus: 'FAMILY-PLANNING-SERVICES; REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH; CARE; ADOLESCENTS;

  BARRIERS'
language: English
month: MAY
number: '3'
number-of-cited-references: '25'
pages: 425-431
papis_id: bddd0db0fdc0bd66194e9859bf93d137
ref: Westbrook2022contraceptiveaccess
times-cited: '1'
title: 'Contraceptive Access Through School-Based Health Centers: Perceptions of Rural
  and Suburban Young People'
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000679713400001
usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
usage-count-since-2013: '2'
volume: '23'
web-of-science-categories: Public, Environmental \& Occupational Health
year: '2022'