Identifying Accessible Sexual and Reproductive Health Resources in Your Community

Introduction

Identifying Accessible Sexual and Reproductive Health Resources in Your Community is a tool to help you, as youth-supporting professionals, scan the landscape of sexual and reproductive health care providers for teens and youth. When you know the landscape, you can intentionally refer youth to providers who meet their individual needs. The information in this tool is based on a research summary from Activate: The Center to Bring Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Research to Youth-Supporting Professionals, which describes seven dimensions of access to sexual and reproductive health care.^a

This landscape scan tool walks through the seven dimensions of access to sexual and reproductive health care. You will engage with questions and research-based examples about each dimension of access, a guided opportunity to reflect on your answers, and potential strategies to consider your next steps. You will begin to critically determine how to address barriers and facilitators to accessing sexual and reproductive health care for youth who have diverse needs.

Lack of access to equitable sexual and reproductive health care and education can lead to greater risks to health and other negative outcomes.^[i],[ii] Youth who have experience with the child welfare and/or justice systems, homelessness, and/or disconnection from school and work face additional barriers in access to care^{[iii],[iv],[v]} due to limited access to health education and public systems that may restrict how and when they can receive sexual and reproductive health care services.^[vi]

How to use this tool

1. Identify providers in your community: Use online searches and/or your network to compile a list of sexual and reproductive health care service providers in your community (e.g., clinics, school-based health centers, hospitals). The list might include providers to whom you already refer youth for sexual and reproductive health care services and/or providers to whom you would like to begin referring youth.
2. Complete the worksheet: Complete Section A: Exploring the Seven Dimensions for each sexual and reproductive health care service provider on your list that serves youth. For some of the questions, you may not know the answers—which is acceptable. Based on your responses to the guiding questions provided, select the option that best represents your assessment of the provider’s capacity to provide accessible care.
3. Review and reflect: Review and reflect on your assessment using Section B: Reflecting on the Seven Dimensions. Some of the dimensions may be more critical than others to the youth you serve. You may need to gather additional information on certain dimensions to better assess the questions for a comprehensive understanding. On a periodic basis, update your understanding and reflect on each provider individually and the collective network of providers in your community.

What’s next?

After completing the worksheets in sections A and B, consider the following strategies and resources to guide your next steps in supporting youth’s access to sexual and reproductive health care services.