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Objectives
To explore patients’ receptivity toward telehealth sexual and reproductive health
(SRH) services from primary care.
Methods
This study objective was part of a larger qualitative study exploring patients’ perceptions
of metrics for assessing the quality of SRH care in primary care. Participants were
recruited via an online research recruitment firm. We conducted five focus groups
(age-groups 18–25, 26–35, 36–45) and eight interviews with New York women of reproductive
age (18–45) who visited a primary care provider in the last year (n=30). We queried
participants on their experiences with and perspectives on telehealth for SRH care,
and perceptions for measuring quality in primary care telehealth visits. We employed
inductive thematic analysis.
Results
Participants preferred having discussions on basic SRH concerns, like contraception,
over telehealth, but desired in-person appointments for complex and unfamiliar topics,
like pregnancy. Benefits of telehealth included convenience, simplicity of some SRH
needs, and the ability to alleviate power dynamics in the patient-provider relationship.
Challenges included lack of one-on-one connection, the seriousness of pregnancy-related
discussions, and privacy/internet connectivity. Measuring the quality of SRH should
not differ between in-person and virtual visits, except for fostering positive, engaging
virtual environments to limit the perceived disconnect.
Conclusions
Participants are receptive to telehealth SRH in primary care, underscoring the importance
of offering and expanding telehealth for these services after the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, telehealth alone will not address all inequities in accessing SRH care.
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Copyright
© 2022 Published by Elsevier Inc.
