M Barnes, E Piqueiras, L Gutierrez-Palominos, R Patil
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives
We aimed to explore the experiences of people obtaining medication abortion through telemedicine medication abortion and clinic-based medication abortion at a single academic center.
Methods
We conducted an exploratory qualitative study utilizing semi-structured teleconference interviews with 23 (9 telemedicine medication abortion and 14 clinic-based medication abortion) patients with a gestational age up to 77 days who obtained a medication abortion between June 2018 and December 2022. Purposive sampling was adopted for the recruitment of participants at a single academic center in California. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded by the authors to generate salient themes via thematic analysis.
Results
Participants discussed the effects of abortion stigma from society and social networks, leading to an increased desire for privacy, support, and urgency with time to appointment. Qualitative analysis indicates that telemedicine medication abortion participants preferred the increased privacy afforded via telemedicine. Clinic-based medication abortion participants highlighted the in-clinic environment as more invasive to their privacy, often requiring more people to know about their abortion which increased feelings of unease. Many participants described uncertainty about sharing abortion information with social networks because they (1) did not want to introduce others' opinions into their decision-making and (2) were unclear about how they might feel or react.
Conclusions
The results suggest that telemedicine abortion is an important tool to counteract pervasive societal stigma as well as improve accessibility. This study also suggests that abortion stigma (both actual and perceived) significantly impacts patient experiences despite being in a state with protective abortion laws, and improving accessibility and privacy can counteract the stigma associated with abortion care.
期刊介绍：
Contraception has an open access mirror journal Contraception: X, sharing the same aims and scope, editorial team, submission system and rigorous peer review.
The journal Contraception wishes to advance reproductive health through the rapid publication of the best and most interesting new scholarship regarding contraception and related fields such as abortion. The journal welcomes manuscripts from investigators working in the laboratory, clinical and social sciences, as well as public health and health professions education.
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