A national survey on Thai medical students’ attitudes towards abortion and their confidence in providing abortion services following the amendment to abortion law

Objectives

This study aimed to evaluate medical students' attitudes towards abortion and their confidence in providing abortion services in the future.

Material and methods

A national cross-sectional online survey was conducted among fifth and sixth-year medical students from 10 Thai universities. A self-administered questionnaire assessed their knowledge, attitudes, and confidence regarding abortion services. Of 340 questionnaires sent, 234 responses were received. We used descriptive statistics and multivariable analysis to explore agreement with abortion and confidence.

Results

The mean attitude score towards abortion was 72.68 ± 7.46 out of 85, with 75.6 % of students indicated a favorable attitude toward abortion. The most widely accepted reasons for abortion were serious congenital anomalies in the fetus (99.6 %) and pregnancy resulting from sexual crimes (98.7 %). However, only 42.8 % of the students were willing to provide abortion services, and 33.8 % felt confident in doing so. Additionally, 77.8 % believed that participating in abortion procedures during medical school would increase their confidence in providing these services. No factors were found to be significantly associated with agreement on abortion.

Conclusion

Although most medical students had a positive attitude towards abortion, only a minority expressed willingness and confidence in providing abortion care. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating hands-on experience in abortion procedures in medical school curricula.