Fayetteville, Arkansas – The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is taking significant steps to enhance access to reproductive health services for women in rural areas of Arkansas. Supported by a private philanthropic grant, UAMS’s Institute for Community Health Innovation will deploy mobile health units to 14 counties, aiming to provide essential contraceptive services and reproductive health education.
Addressing Health Care Access in Rural Communities
In an innovative approach to healthcare delivery, UAMS will utilize mobile health units equipped with necessary medical supplies to offer health screenings, prenatal care, vaccinations, and specifically, a range of contraceptive methods. This initiative targets women in the counties of Ashley, Carroll, Little River, Lee, Madison, Miller, Ouachita, Phillips, Newton, Sebastian, Sevier, St. Francis, Union, and Washington. The goal is to overcome barriers such as transportation issues, costs, and cultural differences that currently hinder access to contraception in these regions.
Kelly Conroy, senior director of Community Programs at the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation, highlighted the challenges rural women face: “Women living in rural communities face a lot of challenges when trying to receive the contraceptive method of their choice,” she said. “Their local clinics may not offer a full range of contraception methods, or they may not be available on-site. By bringing our mobile health units to those communities and working alongside their clinics and their local organizations, we want to help women navigate their reproductive health safely and effectively.”
The initiative also includes partnering with local organizations and clinics to pre-register women for appointments, ensuring that their contraceptive needs are anticipated and met efficiently. Available contraceptive methods might include long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), birth control pills, among others.
Comprehensive Care and Community Collaboration
In addition to contraceptive services, the mobile units will provide reproductive health education, test for se-ually transmitted infections, and connect clients with trained community health workers. These workers will help women access further health resources and integrate into the broader healthcare system.
The project extends beyond immediate health services. It involves training nearly 50 UAMS family medicine residents on LARC insertion and improving communication about reproductive health goals with patients. This training is part of a broader UAMS-led initiative aiming to reduce unintended pregnancies, especially by offering LARC to new mothers immediately after childbirth.
This focus on postpartum contraception is critical as, historically, a significant percentage of women in Arkansas do not return for their postpartum visits, which impacts long-term health and family planning. Dr. Nirvana Manning, professor and chair of the UAMS Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, noted the importance of this timing: “Immediate and early postpartum is an ideal time to begin contraception because women are accessing the health care system and are known not to be pregnant.”
A Critical Health Intervention
Arkansas ranks poorly in maternal mortality rates, and unintended pregnancies continue to pose significant public and personal health challenges. By enhancing access to and education about effective contraception, UAMS’s initiative not only aims to improve individual health outcomes but also seeks to alleviate the broader financial burdens these issues place on state and federal resources.
For more details on the initiative or to get involved, interested parties can visit the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation website at communityhealth.uams.edu.
