Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42148672›Full record

ArticleSexual and reproductive health matters2025

On-demand self-care products: a systematic scoping review of user perspectives.

Stephen Bell, Susannah Gibbs, Claire W Rothschild, Heather Ingold, Lemessa Oljira, Irene Akhigbe, Dinesh Kumar, Marion Subah, Leora Nicole Pillay, Kanwal Qayyum and 4 more

Abstract readScoping Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Sexual and reproductive health matters, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Stephen BellSenior Principal Research Fellow; Co-Head, Global Adolescent Health; Head, International Development, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-2877-9231
Susannah GibbsSenior Technical Writer, Public Health Research, Strategy & Insights Department, Population Services International, Washington, DC, USA.
Claire W RothschildSenior Research Advisor II, Sexual and Reproductive Health Department, PSI, Washington, DC, USA.
Heather IngoldProgramme Manager, Global HIV, Hepatitis, and STI Programmes, World Health Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland.
Lemessa OljiraAssociate Professor, Haramaya University, Ethiopia.
Irene AkhigbeConsultant, Department of Paediatrics, Ola During Children's Hospital, and Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Dinesh KumarProfessor of Community Medicine, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Chandigarh, India.
Marion SubahCountry Director, Last Mile Health, Monrovia, Liberia.
Leora Nicole PillayLead, HIV Prevention Advocacy, Frontline AIDS, Manchester, UK.
Kanwal QayyumSenior Research Manager, Jhpiego Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Eden DemiseResearch Advisor I, Strategy & Insights Department, Population Services International, Washington, DC, USA.
Sarah OnyangoSenior Technical Advisor II, Self-Care, Health Systems Accelerator, Population Services International, Washington, DC, USA.
Abigail WinskellProject Director, Multi-Country II, Sexual and Reproductive Health Department, Population Services International, Washington, DC, USA.
Kristen LittleSenior Research Advisor II, Strategy & Insights Department, Population Services International, PSI, 1120 19th Street, NW Suite 600, 20036 Washington DC, USA. Correspondence: klittle@psi.org.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

On-demand sexual and reproductive health (SRH) products are used or consumed on an as-needed basis, around specific and immediate sexual events, to reduce the risk of unwanted health outcomes. To date, understandings of how on-demand SRH products contribute to self-care are relatively under-explored. Our systematic scoping review of available published research explored acceptability of SRH on-demand self-care from the perspectives of users across diverse regions of the world. Studies from 20 countries across four WHO regions indicated strong acceptability of on-demand self-care SRH products due to compatibility with sex lives; ease of use; fewer side effects; accessibility of products; compatibility with daily life; and partner dynamics related to product use. Interest in and experiences with on-demand products varies for people in different phases of their life course. On-demand SRH products enable self-care through enhanced choice and agency; people-centred products and SRH service delivery; and more pleasurable, safer approaches to SRH. They support users to have satisfying sex lives, plan the families they want and stay healthy. The six emergent domains we identify can be used to position on-demand products into the market; engage and communicate with end-users in ways that enhance their use of safe, effective products most aligned to their needs and preferences across the life course; advocate for changes in policy and regulations that are more supportive of on-demand SRH products; and prioritise future investment in the on-demand product category.

Indexed as

Self CareFemaleHumansPersonal Care ProductsReproductive HealthSexual HealthPersonal Care Productsacceptabilitycommunity perspectivesconsumer insightcontraceptionfamily planningHIV preventionon-demandPrEPself-caresexual and reproductive health

Identifiers

PMID42148672
PMCPMC13288907

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.