A Proposal To Establish An Emergency Contraception Vending Machine On The University Of Texas At Austin

In the spring of 2017, the University of California, Davis unveiled its first “wellness machine” on campus. The vending machine sold Advil, allergy medication, menstrual hygiene products, and emergency contraception. Since the first vending machine of this type was first instituted at Shippensburg University in 2012, several universities across the country have implemented similar machines that sell emergency contraception, and many other universities are either considering or are in the process of launching them. The goal of these vending machines is to expand university students’ access to emergency contraception pills (ECPs), pills that are a method for preventing pregnancy that can be used after unprotected sex (or if there are complications with regular contraception). University students have a particular interest in avoiding unintended pregnancy, so as to not interrupt their educational attainment. To determine whether UT-Austin students would benefit from such a vending machine requires examining the landscape for accessing emergency contraception near campus. In this thesis, I conducted a secret-shopper study of the pharmacies within a three-mile radius of the University of Texas at Austin campus and conducted a survey assessing student attitudes toward a potential vending machine that sells ECPs on campus. Based on my results, I argue that there is a need for such a vending machine. Then, in order to understand the barriers to implementation, as well as the potential solutions to these obstacles, I conducted interviews with administrators in UT-Austin who would potentially be involved with such a vending machine, as well as with experts and administrators in other institutions that have successfully implemented these machines. I end the paper with a plan for how UT-Austin can institute these machines on campus.