Driving better sexual and reproductive health outcomes for women through primary care

We develop innovative strategies so that the Australian primary care workforce can meet the sexual and reproductive health needs of women in Australia.

We develop and trial alternative ways of providing abortion and contraception services to make them more accessible, especially in rural and regional areas of Australia.

Understanding the needs and preferences of women is important when co-designing interventions that can help women achieve their individual reproductive goals.

Health data sets are useful in gaining insights into the state of women's sexual and reproductive health in Australia and identifying gaps in health care provision.

Doctors are calling on the federal government to fund access to non-hormonal IUDs to increase uptake of long-acting reversible contraceptives.

Recertification for GP providers is one of the barriers experts are calling to be lifted to ensure accessibility across Australia.

Doctors are fighting an uphill battle against misinformation about sexual health and contraception – including yoghurt-based thrush remedies, “cancer-causing” contraception, and requests for genital surgery – as young people increasingly turn to social media for medical advice.

A combination of “social prejudice, ingrained bias in medical practice and exclusion from research trials and other studies culminate in a medical catastrophe for women”.

At a Senate Inquiry, Dr Nicole Higgins and Professor Danielle Mazza will be pushing for greater support for GP training to build workforce capability.

Feeling shamed and judged, travelling hundreds of kilometres and ending up significantly out of pocket: these are some of the issues raised by women in their own words with abortion access in Australia.