Women's perspectives on receiving and expanding access to essential health services in pharmacies in the United States

Background: Expanding reproductive health services in community pharmacies is a promising strategy for reaching underserved communities. Limited information exists on women's attitudes to receive these services and if interest may differ in urban and rural locations. Objective: We sought to determine whether there were differences by rural location in women's perspectives and willingness to receive essential preventative and diagnostic reproductive health services in community pharmacies. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional national survey of women in November 2020. The survey consisted of demographic data, women's experiences receiving essential preventative health services, and questions regarding perspectives on and interest in receiving these services in community pharmacies. Descriptive statistics assessed differences in survey responses between rural and urban communities. Results: Our sample size consisted of 867 women. We received 544 responses for a response rate of 62.7%. Rural women were as likely as their urban counterparts to delay receiving preventative care owing to concerns about insurance or how they would pay for services (P = 0.45). Rural women were less likely than urban women to have received the human papillomavirus vaccine (P = 0.02) or have had regular cervical cancer screenings (P = 0.04). Overall, both rural and urban women want to receive preventative reproductive health services in community pharmacies. Conclusion: Expanded access to reproductive health services in community pharmacies has the potential to improve access and health screening, particularly in underserved rural areas.