Work

Driving Time and Single-Visit Long-Acting Reversible Contraception Provision in North Carolina

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: We examined the association between driving time and receipt of single-visit long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) in North Carolina. METHODS: We characterized drive time with single-visit LARC placement across a state-wide cohort of 4319 patients who received LARC between March 15, 2019, and March 14, 2021. Drive time was calculated on ArcGIS Pro 3.0. RESULTS: 68% of patients received a single-visit LARC. Patients who lived 30 minutes from their LARC appointment had 1.54 times the odds of single-visit LARC placement compared to patients who drove 10 minutes (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26 1.90). LIMITATIONS: Our data are limited by the electronic medical record-based design, as well as the assumption that the patients home address is their drive time location of origin. CONCLUSIONS: Increased driving time is associated with single-visit LARC placement. Understanding and addressing barriers to care, including geographic accessibility, is essential to enhancing access to high-quality, person-centered contraceptive care.

Source: North Carolina Medical Journal

DOI: 10.18043/001c.141309

Authors: Salma Ali, Lindsey Yates, Gretchen S. Sauer, Kavita Shah Arora

Institutions: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center

Language: English

Topic: Reproductive Health and Contraception

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences