Self-managed abortion via the internet: Analysis of one year of service delivery data from Women Help Women.

Background: To better comprehend the demand for online medication abortion and to inform service delivery practice, we conducted an analysis of Women Help Women (WHW) service delivery statistics. The primary goals were to understand their user profile, evaluate self-reported outcomes and use of other medical services, and assess the overall experience both with the abortion itself and with the counseling and care provided by WHW. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated user characteristics, abortion outcomes, and acceptability of both the medication abortion and WHW's services, using consultation data and corresponding evaluation data from a one-year period. For users who did not complete the evaluation form, WHW staff reviewed email correspondences to identify key outcomes. Results: From August 2016-July 2017, 3,307 individuals received abortion pills from WHW. Users were geographically located in thirty countries and correspondence was conducted in seven languages. Most reported their gestational age to be less than eight weeks. Of the 2,295 who took the pills and provided outcome information, almost all (99.1%, n=2275) reported that they were no longer pregnant. The majority (84.1%, n=1576/1875) used symptoms to confirm outcome; one fourth (22.8%, n=428) sought an ultrasound and one sixth (18.0%, n=338) used urine and/or serum testing. One in eight users (12.6%, n=292/2317) reported seeking additional medical care after taking the abortion pills. Most (87.5%, n=1551/1773) reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the abortion. Conclusions: Our study confirms that self-managed abortion is a process that people can do safely and effectively with community support and without medical supervision. In the context of a global backlash against abortion rights, self-managed abortion is an integral part of a spectrum of options for abortion care that must be made available to all.

Determinants of self-reported health status during COVID-19 lockdown among surveyed Ecuadorian population: A cross sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations of sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral factors with depression, anxiety, and self-reported health status during the COVID-19 lockdown in Ecuador. We also assessed the differences in these associations between women and men. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey between July to October 2020 to adults who were living in Ecuador between March to October 2020. All data were collected through an online survey. We ran descriptive and bivariate analyses and fitted sex-stratified multivariate logistic regression models to assess the association between explanatory variables and self-reported health status. RESULTS: 1801 women and 1123 men completed the survey. Their median (IQR) age was 34 (27-44) years, most participants had a university education (84%) and a full-time public or private job (63%); 16% of participants had poor health self-perception. Poor self-perceived health was associated with being female, having solely public healthcare system access, perceiving housing conditions as inadequate, living with cohabitants requiring care, perceiving difficulties in coping with work or managing household chores, COVID-19 infection, chronic disease, and depression symptoms were significantly and independently associated with poor self-reported health status. For women, self-employment, having solely public healthcare system access, perceiving housing conditions as inadequate, having cohabitants requiring care, having very high difficulties to cope with household chores, having COVID-19, and having a chronic disease increased the likelihood of having poor self-reported health status. For men, poor or inadequate housing, presence of any chronic disease, and depression increased the likelihood of having poor self-reported health status. CONCLUSION: Being female, having solely public healthcare system access, perceiving housing conditions as inadequate, living with cohabitants requiring care, perceiving difficulties in coping with work or managing household chores, COVID-19 infection, chronic disease, and depression symptoms were significantly and independently associated with poor self-reported health status in Ecuadorian population.

Social inequalities in utilization of a feminist telehealth abortion service in Brazil: A multilevel analysis.

The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on health services around the world boosted interest over telehealth models of care. In Brazil, where abortion is heavily restricted, abortion seekers have long relied on international telehealth services to access abortion pills. We conducted a cross-sectional multilevel study to assess the effect of individual and contextual social factors on utilization of one such service. For the individual-level, we analyzed data from the records of abortion seekers contacting this feminist international telehealth organization during 2019 (n = 25,920). Individual-level variables were age, race, education level and pregnancy length. Contextual-level units were states, for which we used data from the national Demographic Census and Household Surveys. Contextual-level variables were household income per capita, adjusted net school attendance rate, percentage of racialized women and income Gini Index. We fitted five multilevel Poisson Mixed-effects models with robust variance to estimate prevalence ratios (PR) of service utilization, which was defined as receiving abortion pills through the service. We found that only 8.2% of requesters got abortion pills through the service. Utilization was higher among women who were older, white, more educated and 5-8-weeks pregnant. Independently of this, service utilization was higher in states with higher income and education access, with lower proportions of racialized women, and located in the South, Southeast and Central-West regions. We concluded that while feminist telehealth abortion initiatives provide a life-saving service for some abortion seekers, they are not fully equipped to overcome entrenched social inequalities in their utilization, both at individual and contextual levels.

Medical abortion provision and quality of care: What can be learned from feminist activists?

Little is known about how feminist abortion support initiatives -born in legally restrictive settings- approach quality of care. We conducted one focus group and one semi-structured interview with activists from eight organizations operating in Latin America and the Caribbean to understand their perspectives and strategies around quality of abortion care. Activists underscore the need of evidence-based information, trained providers and accessibility for people with diverse needs and resources. Grounded on feminism, they also highlight autonomy, dignity, horizontality and a new definition of safety. If applied in formal health systems, these strategies could improve quality of abortion care in other contexts.

"No one should be alone in living this process": trajectories, experiences and user's perceptions about quality of abortion care in a telehealth service in Chile.

Self-managed abortion is a common self-care practice that enables pregnant people to exercise their rights to health, bodily autonomy and to benefit from the advances of science even when living in contexts that do not guarantee these rights. In this interpretative qualitative study, we aimed to understand women's abortion trajectories, experiences with self-managed abortion and assessments of the quality of care provided by Women Help Women (WHW, an international activist non-profit organisation working on abortion access). Grounded in feminist epistemology and health inequalities approaches, we conducted eleven semi-structured interviews in Santiago, Chile. We found that illegality, stigma and expectations surrounding motherhood and abortion determined women's experiences. Participants perceived the WHW service as good, trustworthy, fast and affordable, and valued confidentiality and privacy; the quantity and quality of information; having direct, personalised and timely communication with service staff; being treated with respect; and feeling safe, cared for and supported in their decisions. Most participants considered self-managed abortion appropriate and acceptable given their circumstances. Fear was the dominant feeling in women's narratives. Some participants mentioned missing instant communication, in-person support and professional care. We conclude that support, information and company are key to improving abortion seekers' experiences and enabling their decisions, particularly in legally restrictive settings. Centring care in pregnant people's needs and autonomy is fundamental to ensure safe, appropriate and accessible self-care interventions in reproductive health. Social and legal changes, such as public funding for abortion, destigmatisation and decriminalisation, are needed to realise people's right to higher standards of healthcare.

Requests for medication abortion support in Brazil during and after the Zika epidemic.

Brazil declared a public health emergency during the Zika virus epidemic, recommending avoiding pregnancy. This study analyses requests received by Women Help Women for information about and support for self-managed medication abortion (MA) in Brazil during and after the Zika epidemic to understand how Zika may have impacted requests to the service. This analysis considered 20,609 requests for MA support received between January 2016 and June 2017. Reasons for seeking an abortion were analysed alongside geographic trends in the percent and rate of requests citing Zika as a reason for seeking abortion. The average number of daily requests for MA support increased from 31 in January 2016 to 48 in June 2017. The average percent of daily requests citing Zika as a reason for seeking an abortion decreased from 15% in March 2016 to 1.5% by June 2017. The most common reason for abortion seeking during and after the Zika epidemic was not being prepared for a child or not wanting any or additional children (between 52%-59% of requests). As the Zika epidemic slowed, MA requests citing Zika as a reason decreased, while requests increased overall. Few people cited Zika alone as a reason for abortion seeking, necessitating a broad contextualisation of abortion access in people's daily lived experiences and realities.

"It's not a seven-headed beast": abortion experience among women that received support from helplines for medication abortion in restrictive settings.

There are a growing number of abortion helplines where counselors provide person-centered medication abortion services in legally restrictive settings. Few researchers have explored the perceptions and experiences of the people who obtain support from these helplines. Between April and August 2017, we conducted 30 interviews with women who had a medication abortion with support from helpline counselors in Poland, Brazil, or Nigeria. Before seeking care with the helpline, women often heard negative stories about abortion and faced enacted stigma from the formal healthcare sector, or chose not to seek services from their doctors due to fear of stigmatizing treatment. Conversely, during their care with the helpline counselors, women received clear information in a timely manner, and were treated with kindness, compassion, respect, and without judgment. Many women gained knowledge and understanding of medication abortion, and some gained a sense of community among those who experienced abortion. Helpline models can provide high-quality, person-centered abortion care to people seeking abortions in legally restrictive contexts. Evidence from these service-delivery models could help improve service within the formal healthcare systems and expand access to high-quality, safe abortion by redefining what it means to provide care.

[Medical abortion provided by telemedicine to women in Latin America: complications and their treatment]. / Aborto farmacológico dispensado a través de un servicio de telemedicina a mujeres de América Latina: complicaciones y su tratamiento.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze reported complications and their treatment after a medical abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol provided by a telemedicine service to women living in Latin America. METHODS: Observational study based on the registry of consultations in a telemedicine service. A total of 872 women who used the service in 2010 and 2011 participated in the study. The dependent variables were overall complications, hemorrhage, incomplete abortion, overall treatments, surgical evacuation, and antibiotics. Independent variables were age, area of residence, socioeconomic deprivation, previous children, pregnancies and abortions, and week of pregnancy. We fitted Poisson regression models with robust variance to estimate incidence ratios and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). RESULTS: Complications were reported by 14.6% of the participants: 6.2% reported hemorrhage and 6.8% incomplete abortion. Nearly one-fifth (19.0%) received postabortion treatment: 10.9% had a surgical evacuation and 9.3% took antibiotics. Socioeconomic deprivation increased the risk of complications by 64% (95%CI: 15%-132%), and, among these, the risk of incomplete abortion by 82% (95%CI: 8%-206%) and the risk of surgical intervention by 62% (95%CI: 7%-144%). Previous pregnancies increased the risk of complications and, specifically, the risk of hemorrhage by 2.29 times (95%CI: 1.33-3.95%). Women with a pregnancy of 12 or more weeks had a 2.45 times higher risk of receiving medical treatment and a 2.94 times higher risk of taking antibiotics compared with women with pregnancies of 7 or less weeks. CONCLUSION: Medical abortion provided by telemedicine seems to be a safe and effective alternative in contexts where it is legally restricted.