Advancing a Measure of Sexual and Reproductive Well-Being Aligned With Core Values of Reproductive Justice and Human Rights

Abstract

Sexuality and reproduction are central to people's life experiences and their ability to thrive. Existing frameworks and measurements related to sexuality and reproduction are predominantly focused on the presence or absence of adverse outcomes, neglecting the critical question of whether people experience positive outcomes and have the sexual and reproductive lives they wish to have. The increased attention to well-being in economic, political, and health spheres presents an opportunity to define and measure the holistic construct of sexual and reproductive well-being. To this end, we engaged in an 18-month collaborative process to develop a definition of sexual and reproductive well-being, with the ultimate goal of informing the development of a measure that would be self-reported and assessed at the population level. The resulting draft definition and measure development approach will serve as the foundation for subsequent measure development. This values-driven process of defining sexual and reproductive well-being will contribute to developing a reproductive justice- and human rights-aligned measure that can illuminate the extent to which structures and systems enable optimal sexual and reproductive experiences. (Am J Public Health. 2025;115(9):1463-1471. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308119).

FIGURE 1—

Socioecological Determinants of Sexual and Reproductive Well-Being Source. Adapted from Braveman et al. for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Commission to Build a Healthier America, www.commissiononhealth.org for the Sexual and Reproductive Wellbeing Measure Planning Project, January 2023. Note. See additional examples at each socioecological level in Figure A (available as a supplement to the online version of this article at http://www.ajph.org).