An examination of women’s access to and experiences of reproductive health care in England

As part of the 2022 Women’s Health Strategy for England, £25 million were allocated over two years to accelerate the expansion of Women’s Health Hubs with the goal of at least one hub within each of England’s 45 Integrated Care Boards. While models of hub delivery may vary, e.g., virtual versus clinic-based or within general practice versus Sexual and Reproductive Health clinics, the goal is to provide a more ‘one-stop shop’ service. A recent report on the early evaluation of Women’s Health Hubs found that because many Women’s Health Hubs were in the early stages of development, the evidence for their system-level impact and financial costs is not yet clear. Investigating how commissioning of Sexual and Reproductive Health services, including the development and implementation of Women’s Health Hubs, affects access to and experience of reproductive health care, particularly among under-served groups, will help us understand their potential to deliver patient-centred care.

Please note: The term ‘women’ is used on this page, however we recognise that the topics under study may be relevant to people who do not identify as women and we will seek to be inclusive of those assigned female at birth who have other gender identities.

The aim of this project is to describe the frequency of access to reproductive health services in England and people’s views and experiences in accessing them.

Research questions:

1. What reproductive health services are women accessing (or not) across the reproductive life-course, and how does this vary by demographic characteristics, geographical regions and early Integrated Care Board initiation of Women’s Health Hubs?

2. Among women with symptoms/conditions, what percentage are receiving treatment for this and how does this vary by demographic characteristics, geographical regions and early Integrated Care Board initiation of Women’s Health Hubs?

3. Among those who have accessed services, how satisfied are they with care received and how does this vary by reproductive health need, type of service accessed, receipt of treatment and demographic and geographical characteristics?

4. What influences choice of service(s) and what factors facilitate or hinder access to and acceptability of services, specifically Women’s Health Hubs?

5. From a user perspective, what steps will ensure access to and satisfaction with Women’s Health Hubs and reduce disparities, and how should the impact of Women’s Health Hubs be measured?

To answer our research questions, we will be working on three complementary activities: 

1. An analysis of the survey data collected in the 2023 Women's Reproductive Health Survey in England to further our understanding of access to, and satisfaction with, reproductive health services at a national level, and how this might vary by respondent characteristics. 

2. Interviews to explore views and experiences in more depth, as well as interviews with voluntary sector and social care representatives.

3. A community group model building workshop with participants representing traditionally underserved groups.