Chatbots in sexual and reproductive health: bridging the divide in accessibility and equity

Chatbots are increasingly utilized in the health care landscape, including in sexual and reproductive health (SRH). These tools have shown significant potential in enhancing accessibility to health education and services, particularly with the addition of artificial intelligence (AI). This commentary explores the utilization of chatbots for delivering SRH care, assessing their potential to impact health equity and access within rural and underserved settings and evaluating their effectiveness and safety.

Synthesizing existing literature on SRH chatbots, this commentary examines their development and functionality, assessing their impact on health equity, particularly across diverse demographic and sociocultural contexts. The effectiveness and safety of these tools are also reviewed based on their design, content validation processes, and adherence to privacy regulations.

SRH chatbots have the potential to enhance health literacy and equity, increasing user knowledge and autonomy. Through equitable development and implementation, they can democratize access to essential health information across diverse populations, providing tailored advice based on individual factors. This personalized guidance empowers users to make informed decisions about their health. However, their effectiveness can be influenced by factors such as technological literacy, ethics, and privacy concerns.

Chatbots in SRH present a promising tool for improving health care delivery and empower patients by providing immediate, personalized information. They increase access to evidence-based information while allowing health care workers to allocate more resources to complex cases. As AI becomes increasingly available, those using it for SRH should focus on enhancing technological capabilities, ensuring rigorous content validation, and overcoming technological and socio-economic barriers to maximize the public health benefits, including misinformation correction, of chatbots in SRH. The development of these tools must prioritize equity and user trust by ensuring equitable access, data privacy, and tailoring interactions to meet diverse needs across populations.

AI-enabled chatbots can expand equitable access to sexual and reproductive health by improving health literacy, autonomy, and timely decision-making. Their success, however, depends on rigorous validation, privacy protections, and equity-focused design to ensure they reduce, rather than exacerbate, health disparities in underserved populations.