Early abortion in family medicine: clinical outcomes.

PURPOSE: Clinical innovations have made it more feasible to incorporate early abortion into family medicine, yet the outcomes of early abortion procedures in this setting have not been well studied. We wished to assess the outcomes of first-trimester medication and aspiration abortion procedures by family physicians. METHODS: Prospective observational cohort study conducted from August 2001 to February 2005 of 2,550 women who sought pregnancy termination in 4 clinical practices of family medicine departments and 1 private office/training site. RESULTS: The rate of successful uncomplicated procedures for medication was 96.5% (95.5%-97.1% [corrected] confidence interval [CI], 95.5%-97.0%) and for aspiration was 99.9% (CI, 99.3%-1). Adverse events and complications of medication abortions were failed procedure (ongoing pregnancy; n = 19, 1.45%); incomplete abortion (n = 16, 1.22%); hemorrhage (n = 9, 0.69%); and patient request for aspiration (n = 1, 0.08%). One (0.08%) missed ectopic pregnancy was seen among patients receiving medication. Four types of adverse outcomes were encountered with aspiration: incomplete abortion requiring re-aspiration (n = 21, 1.83%); hemorrhage during the procedure (n = 4, 0.35%); missed ectopic pregnancy (n = 3, 0.26%); and minor endometritis (n = 1, 0.09%). Missed ectopic pregnancies were successfully treated in the inpatient setting without mortality (overall hospitalization rate of 0.16 of 100). All other complications were managed within outpatient family medicine sites. Rates of complication did not vary by experience of physician or by site of care (residency vs private practice). CONCLUSIONS: Complications of medication and aspiration procedures occurred at a low rate, and most were minor and managed without incident.

A family medicine training collaborative in early abortion.

OBJECTIVES: This study's objective was to assess participation and perceived benefits of abortion training among residents at programs with integrated early abortion care. INTERVENTION: We developed a collaborative early abortion training network. RESULTS: Residents at training sites had high participation (71%) and were more likely to report familiarity and comfort with providing early abortion care than comparison sites. Residents reported benefits to overall training (78%), satisfaction (55%), and plans to provide abortion care (40%). CONCLUSIONS: This collaborative abortion training program was valued by residents and was associated with greater self-assessed skills and positive attitudes toward providing early abortion care than at comparison sites.

Initiating abortion training in residency programs: issues and obstacles.

OBJECTIVES: Early abortion is a common outpatient procedure, but few family medicine residencies provide abortion training. We wished to assess experiences and obstacles among residency programs that have worked to establish early abortion services. METHODS: From 2001-2004, 14 faculty participated in a collaborative program to initiate abortion training at seven family medicine residencies. Ten focus groups with all trainees were followed by individual semi-structured interviews with a smaller group (n=9) that explored the progress and obstacles they experienced. Individual interviews were recorded and analyzed to identify major themes and sub-themes related to initiating abortion training. RESULTS: Five of seven sites established abortion training. Five major themes were identified: (1) establishing support, (2) administration, (3) finance, (4) legal matters, and (5) security/demonstrators. Faculty from sites where training was ultimately established rated the sub-themes of billing/reimbursement, obtaining staff support, and state/hospital regulations as most difficult. Gaining support from within the department and institution was most difficult for the two sites that could not establish training. None experienced difficulty with security/demonstrators. CONCLUSIONS: Developing the clinical and administrative capacity to provide early abortion services in family medicine residency programs is feasible. Support from leadership within departments and from the wider institution is important for implementation.

The effect of a simple educational intervention on interest in early abortion training among family medicine residents.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess the effect of an educational intervention on the interest in and support for abortion training among family medicine residents. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey before and after an educational lecture on medical and surgical abortion in primary care among 89 residents in 10 New Jersey family medicine programs. RESULTS: Before the lecture, there was more interest in medical abortion training than surgical abortion. Resident interest in surgical abortion and overall support for abortion training increased after the educational intervention (p<.01). CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to develop educational programs on early abortion care may facilitate the integration of abortion training in family medicine.