Access and quality of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services in Britain during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative interview study of patient experiences
Authors: Perez Raquel Boso , Reid David , Maxwell Karen Julia , Gibbs Jo , Dema Emily , Bonell Chris , Mercer Catherine Heather , Sonnenberg Pam , Field Nigel , Mitchell Kirstin Rebecca 
Published: October 2021

Objectives

Access to quality sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services remains imperative, even during a pandemic. Our objective was to understand experiences of delayed or unsuccessful access to SRH services in Britain during the early stages of COVID-19 pandemic.

Design

Semi-structured qualitative follow-up interviews were conducted in October-November 2020 (six months after the first UK lockdown) with participants of Natsal-COVID, a quasi-representative web-panel survey of sexual health and behaviour during COVID-19 (n=6654). Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify lessons for future SRH service access and quality.

Setting

Telephone interviews with participants from the general population.

Participants

14 women and 6 men (24-47-years-old) reporting unmet need for SRH services and agreeing to recontact (n=311) were selected for interview using socio-demographic quotas.

Results

Participant experiences spanned ten different SRH services, including contraception and antenatal/maternity services. At interview, ten participants still experienced unmet need. Participants reported hesitancy and self-censorship of need. Accessing services required tenacity. Challenges included navigating inconsistent information and changing procedures; perceptions of gatekeepers as obstructing access; and inflexible appointment systems. Concerns about reconfigured services included reduced privacy; decreased quality of interactions with professionals; reduced informal support due to lone attendance; and fewer routine physical checks. However, participants also described examples of more streamlined services and staff efforts to compensate for disruptions. Many viewed the blending of telemedicine with in-person care as a positive development.

Conclusion

COVID-19 impacted access and quality of SRH services. The accounts of those who struggled to access services revealed self-censorship of need, difficulty navigating shifting service configurations, and perceived reduction in quality due to a socially-distanced service model. Telemedicine offers potential for greater efficiency if blended intelligently with in-person care. We offer some initial data-based recommendations for promoting equitable access and quality in restoration and future adaption of SRH services.

SUMMARY BOX

What is already known on this topic

Access to quality sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services remains imperative, even during a pandemic. In response to the threat of COVID-19, SRH services limited in-person provision, introduced social distancing and mask wearing, and expanded remote consultations and postal services. There are no published qualitative community studies in Britain exploring service-user experiences of the rapid adaption and scaling-down of SRH services in response to COVID-19.

What this study adds

This study provides important insights into how rapid contraction and adaptation of sexual and reproductive health services was experienced by service users. It adds the patient perspective to formal and informal learning and sharing of knowledge been practitioners and policy makers. The study highlights that difficulty accessing services, decreased quality of SRH interactions, reduced opportunity to receive informal support, and fewer routine physical checks were difficult for patients. Our data-driven recommendations – including cautious adoption of telemedicine and improving collaboration across services – have relevance across SRH services and may be useful to other primary and secondary care providers.