Driving better sexual and reproductive health outcomes for women through primary care

We innovate strategies to ensure the Australian primary care workforce adequately addresses women's sexual and reproductive health needs, including trialling alternative service delivery methods to enhance accessibility, particularly in rural and regional areas.

Understanding the needs and preferences of women is important when co-designing interventions that can help women achieve their individual reproductive goals.

Health data sets are useful in gaining insights into the state of women's sexual and reproductive health in Australia and identifying gaps in health care provision.

Select general practices in the Australian Capital Territory can now offer free medical terminations, under a new expansion of a nation-leading accessible abortions scheme. Two clinics have been incentivised to provide the service at no cost in a bid to break down financial barriers and stigma, with hopes it will expand into additional general practices in the future.

The Canadian government announced on Saturday that it will soon cover the full cost of common contraceptives for women –including intrauterine devices (IUDs), contraceptive pills and hormonal implants – as part of a major health care reform that ensures that cost never gets in the way of desired contraception.

Chrystia Freeland, Canada's deputy prime minister and minister of finance, highlighted the financial cost of contraceptives as one of the largest barriers to access and said the federal government's universal pharmacare plan aimed to lower that bar for more than nine million Canadian women, whether for reasons of family planning or medical treatment.

It’s really important to be as healthy as possible before getting pregnant to improve the health of both the mother and the baby. Unfortunately, many people don’t realise the significance of taking care of their health before pregnancy, and by the time they start thinking about it, they’re already pregnant.

Researchers want to improve the recording of pregnancy risk factors in GP medical records for their women patients after a Monash University-led audit found a concerning number were at risk. Published in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, the audit of 10 Melbourne general practices found a significant number of women patients aged 18-44 had conditions that could complicate pregnancy.

Interpersonal violence comes in many forms, some more recognizable than others. One evolving recognizable area where interpersonal coercion and control are used to invade a victim’s personal autonomy is intentional interference with reproductive choice. This is a particularly relevant concern considering the evolving legal landscape related to pregnancy termination and parenting decisions.