Background: Despite years of research and numerous policies, access to contraceptives in the United States remains imperfect. Largely due to lack of access to contraceptives, unintended pregnancy rates remain high.
Objective: To provide researchers and policy-makers with a comprehensive review of the legislative and social landscape that has shaped contraceptive access in the United States, which may help to guide future research and policies.
Methods: A narrative overview of existing literature on policies and research regarding women's access to contraceptives was compiled, with a focus on the role of pharmacists.
Results: Contraceptive access has been heavily influenced by laws and policies throughout the years, and disparities remain in underserved populations. Pharmacists are beginning to play a role in improving access to contraceptives through provision of contraceptives using direct pharmacy access policies.
Conclusions: Continued research and new policies aimed at improving contraceptive access are warranted.
Keywords: Access; Contraceptive; Direct pharmacy access; Narrative literature review; Pharmacist.
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