You are here: Home >> Research >> Reproductive Health Workforce >> Why This Matters 

U.S. Contraception Workforce Tracker

Our Team

You may also be interested In:

Health Workforce
Diversity Tracker

Health Workforce
Research Centers

Social Mission Metrics

Why This Matters

Access to family planning care improves health outcomes, quality of life, and economic and educational achievement. However, many women in the United States face substantial challenges in obtaining contraception services, and disparities exist along racial lines, rural and urban divisions, income and insurance status. 

The contraception and abortion workforce – those healthcare providers who offer contraception and abortion services – can enable or limit access to these essential healthcare services. The reproductive health workforce has often been measured in terms of supply and demand of women’s health specialists (e.g., OBGYNs, nurse midwives). Primary care providers are also important providers of these services and may be key to access in some communities and populations (e.g., rural and pediatric populations).

Medicaid acceptance, a key determinant of access to care, varies widely by state. The proportion of prescription contraception providers accepting Medicaid in 2019 varied from 55.5% in Texas to 89.1% in Vermont.

For more information, see our article in AJOG.

The GW Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity (GWMI) is committed to conducting research and policy analysis to promote greater equity in healthcare and society. For all healthcare services, the provider workforce represents a critical piece of the puzzle in determining equitable access to essential health services. The Reproductive Health Workforce project focuses on the contraception and abortion workforce in the U.S.

The U.S. Contraception Workforce Tracker monitors the location, provider type, distribution/provider density, and Medicaid acceptance status of the prescription contraception workforce, with the goal of providing evidence-based support for policies and programs that can address gaps in contraceptive equity. Policies and programs - including federal, state, and private regulatory and payment policies -have a significant impact on the provider workforce for contraceptive and abortion care. The Tracker allows researchers and others to compare states and counties across multiple aspects of the contraceptive workforce. Our national database of contraception providers may be used to further study how patient, provider, community, and policy characteristics align to affect access, service, quality of care, and health outcomes.