Increasing Reproductive Health Services through Family PACT Participation among California Community College Student Health Centers

• Published in: Journal of American college health Vol. 71; no. 9; pp. 2766 - 2774
• Main Authors: Trieu, Sang Leng, Shenoy, Divya, Lui, Camillia K, Hayes, Catherine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Taylor & Francis 01.12.2023
• Subjects: Access to Health Care; Birth; California; Community College Students; Contraception; Family Planning; Family Planning Services; Humans; Institutional Characteristics; Pregnancy; Reproductive Health Services; School Health Services; Sexuality; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Student Health Services; Students; Universities; California; publicly-funded; College health; sexual health services; community college; F; amily PACT
• ISSN: 0744-8481; 1940-3208
• DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2021.1996370

Objective: Community college students engage in more risky sexual behavior compared to their four-year counterparts, yet have access to fewer reproductive health services. The study's purpose was to examine whether California Community College student health centers' participation in Family PACT, a state publicly-funded family planning program, increased reproductive health services to community colleges students. Participants: California community college student health centers. Methods: Bivariate analyses of student health centers with and without Family PACT participation and qualitative analysis of five participating campuses. Results: Among the 60 colleges in the study, 25 student health centers participated in the Family PACT program. Family PACT campuses reported greater provision of sexual and reproductive health services and higher levels of staffing and revenue. Conclusions: Key benefits of Family PACT participation among community colleges include expansion of sexual and reproductive health services to an underserved population and increased student health centers' financial sustainability.