Barriers and facilitators to emergency contraception access among university students: Vending machines as a potential solution

Objective: This study investigates the barriers and facilitators to emergency contraception (EC) use among university students and assesses interest in vending machines that sell EC on university campuses. Participants: 363 students at a private Illinois university completed an electronic survey regarding on-campus EC access (73.6% cisgender women, 52.9% white, 45.7% straight, 58.7% undergraduate). Methods: Anonymous survey responses were collected between November 2023 and February 2024 via RedCap and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS. Results: Nearly half of all participants (42.1%) had previously obtained EC, either for themselves or from someone else. Among these participants (n = 153), 18.3% found the experience difficult, mainly due to cost. Over half (55.0%) of participants had confidentiality concerns when obtaining EC. Most (90.3%) participants reported that they would use an on-campus EC vending machine. Conclusions: Understanding the specific barriers university students face when seeking EC can inform efforts to improve access, including through EC vending machines.