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

<b>Objective:</b> 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. <b>Participants:</b> 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). <b>Methods:</b> Anonymous survey responses were collected between November 2023 and February 2024 <i>via</i> RedCap and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS. <b>Results:</b> Nearly half of all participants (42.1%) had previously obtained EC, either for themselves or from someone else. Among these participants (<i>n</i> = 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. <b>Conclusions:</b> Understanding the specific barriers university students face when seeking EC can inform efforts to improve access, including through EC vending machines.