East Tennessee State University’s Center for Applied Research and Evaluation (CARE) in Women’s Health published an original research article in the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH). Dr. Kate Beatty, Dr. Michael Smith, Jordan de Jong, Dr. Amy Weber, Rakesh Adelli, and Dr. Amal Khoury published a Notes from the Field manuscript titled “Impact of the Choose Well Initiative on Contraceptive Access at Federally Qualified Health Centers in South Carolina: A Midline Evaluation”. AJPH’s Notes from the Field publications are used to share the implementation and evaluation of key interventions which have broad implications for the practice of public health. The paper uses novel data collected from FQHC clinics in South Carolina and a comparison state in 2017 and again in 2020 to examine changes in provision of reproductive health services, midway during Choose Well implementation. The article can be found here.
Choose Well is a unique statewide initiative aimed at reducing unintended pregnancy and providing equitable access to contraception and is the first and only initiative of its kind in the US Southeast. Findings highlight significantly higher increases in onsite provision of a full range of contraceptive methods and increases in provider and staff training at Choose Well-participating clinics relative to non-participating clinics. This paper also describes ways in which Choose Well has applied sustainability efforts to continue enhanced provision and training in clinics. Results and recommendations provide new insights into effectiveness and evaluation of interventions such as Choose Well.
Dr. Kate Beatty, Associate Professor at ETSU and the paper’s lead author, said, “This paper has far-reaching implications for assessment of statewide contraceptive access initiatives. This study is novel in its assessment of a contraceptive access initiative at this scale within Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) systems, which has not previously been attempted in the United States Southeast.”
The Center for Applied Research and Evaluation in Women’s Health in the College of Public Health at ETSU is leading the evaluation of Choose Well. The evaluation uses a variety of methodologies and data sources including extensive data collected by ETSU researchers to advance the evidence around the implementation processes, effectiveness, and sustainability of statewide contraceptive access initiatives.
“I am excited about the work that our team is doing to advance the science around reproductive health delivery, particularly for people with low incomes in the Southeast,” said Dr. Amal Khoury, CARE Director. “Integrating reproductive health services into primary care settings, like FQHCs, can be challenging. This study highlights the role of statewide initiatives in enabling this integration and informs similar initiatives in other states.”
To learn more about CARE Women’s Health’s work, visit https://www.etsu.edu/cph/care-womens-health/.