Promoting a public health framework for unintended pregnancy prevention in health professions education and practice

Increasing the proportion of pregnancies that are planned has long been identified as a public health goal in the United States, and yet currently, unintended pregnancy prevention and care are highly fragmented, and little progress has been made toward achieving this goal in recent years. Health professions education includes little content on this widespread reproductive health phenomenon, and reflects the disorganization of the health system with regard to this problem. An integrated framework of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention offers the potential to more effectively address this reproductive health issue. By advancing this comprehensive model for prevention and care of women at risk of or experiencing unintended pregnancy, the health system and health professionals can be better engaged toward achieving these national goals. The roles of health professionals including nurses, advanced practice clinicians and physicians within this framework will be discussed, and strategies for integrating this model into health professions education will be described. Moving from policy to action in unintended pregnancy prevention will be the focus of this session.