Telecontraception: An Evaluative Research Study on Birth Control Accessibility via Smart Phone Applications

Birth control accessibility in the United States continues to be a growing issue. Studies have shown that barriers such as transportation to clinics, ability to obtain an appointment at a clinic, having time off work or school, cost, lack of insurance, and residing in contraceptive deserts prevents women from obtaining birth control. However, with telemedicine on the rise, new technologies are becoming available, such as telecontraception—a recent innovation, where people can obtain birth control through a website or an app on smart phone devices. Telecontraception could potentially serve as a tool to narrow the birth control accessibility gap for uninsured and low-income people. Nonetheless, it is important to question the possible consequences of obtaining contraception online. This thesis aims to answer the question: what is the variability in telecontraception screening to prescribe the correct type of birth control to patients? This thesis aims to answer the question of screening variability by comparing questionnaires from four telecontraception apps: Nurx, Planned Parenthood Direct, The Pill Club and Hers. In this study I also compare the questionnaires to a contraindication chart developed by the Reproductive Health Access Project. This study found that among the four telecontraceptive apps there is no uniformity among the apps in terms of cost, types of insurance accepted, types of birth control offered, and states currently being served. Furthermore, this study also finds that when it comes to obtaining a prescription via these apps, we cannot determine whether the questionnaires required by these apps are able to successfully prevent possible contraindications to birth control prescriptions. Overall, this thesis considers the benefits of access to birth control via telecontraception and the barriers that are still experienced by patients via these apps and offers recommendations to increase access to birth control via telecontraception