Seeking support for abortion online: a qualitative study of women's experiences.

INTRODUCTION: Social support can mitigate the impact of stress and stigma before or after an abortion. However, stigma anticipation can limit access to in-person support. Informal online spaces can offer opportunities to address unmet support needs including supplementing in-person support lacking within stigmatised contexts. While earlier studies have explored content of posts comprising personal accounts of abortion, little is known about the nuances of how and to what end online spaces are navigated. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted remotely (online or by telephone) with 23 women living in Scotland (aged 20-54 years) recruited through social media and online advertisements. Reflexive thematic analysis was supported by NVivo12 software. RESULTS: Key themes: obtaining support that was unavailable from in-person networks; preparation for abortion; reducing feelings of isolation. The majority of participants independently searched online for accounts of abortion, with only three receiving any signposting to specific resources. Without guidance, finding relevant, supportive content was not straightforward. The search process was additionally complicated by the prevalence of abortion stigma online, which generated an additional burden at a potentially challenging time. Those who received direction towards particular resources reported primarily positive online experiences. CONCLUSIONS: While online content could address perceived in-person support gaps, the process of finding supportive content without guidance can be complex. Online searching may also expose women to stigmatising material and interactions. Signposting by abortion services towards well-moderated and trustworthy online resources could be constructive in limiting exposure to stigma and misinformation, while allowing those seeking it to access better support.

COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on social relationships and health.

This essay examines key aspects of social relationships that were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses explicitly on relational mechanisms of health and brings together theory and emerging evidence on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to make recommendations for future public health policy and recovery. We first provide an overview of the pandemic in the UK context, outlining the nature of the public health response. We then introduce four distinct domains of social relationships: social networks, social support, social interaction and intimacy, highlighting the mechanisms through which the pandemic and associated public health response drastically altered social interactions in each domain. Throughout the essay, the lens of health inequalities, and perspective of relationships as interconnecting elements in a broader system, is used to explore the varying impact of these disruptions. The essay concludes by providing recommendations for longer term recovery ensuring that the social relational cost of COVID-19 is adequately considered in efforts to rebuild.