A telemedicine model for abortion in South Africa: a randomised, controlled, non-inferiority trial.

BACKGROUND: Telemedicine for medical abortion increases access to safe abortion but its use has not been described in a controlled trial. We aimed to investigate the effectiveness, adherence, safety, and acceptability of a modified telemedicine protocol for abortion compared with standard care in a low-resource setting. METHODS: In this randomised, controlled, non-inferiority trial we recruited women seeking medical abortion at or before 9 gestational weeks at four public health clinics in South Africa. Participants were randomly allocated (1:1) by computer-generated blocks of varying sizes to telemedicine or standard care. The telemedicine group received asynchronous online abortion consultation and instruction, self-assessed gestational duration, and had a uterine palpation as a safety measure. Participants in this group took 200 mg mifepristone and 800 µg misoprostol at home. The standard care group received in-person consultation and instruction together with an ultrasound, took 200 mg mifepristone in clinic and 800 µg misoprostol at home. Our primary outcome was complete abortion after initial treatment, assessed at a 6-week interview. Our non-inferiority margin was 4%. Group differences were assessed by modified intention-to-treat (mITT) analysis and per protocol. The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04336358, and the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry, PACTR202004661941593. FINDINGS: Between Feb 28, 2020, and Oct 5, 2021, we enrolled 900 women, 153 (17·0%) of whom were discontinued before the abortion and were not included in the analysis. By mITT analysis, 355 (95·4%) of 372 women in the telemedicine group had a complete abortion compared with 338 (96·6%) of 350 in the standard care group (odds ratio 0·74 [95% CI 0·35 to 1·57]). The risk difference was -1·1% (-4·0 to 1·7). Among women who completed treatment as allocated (per protocol), 327 (95·6%) of 342 women in telemedicine group had complete abortion, compared with 338 (96·6%) of 350 in the standard care group (0·77 [0·36 to 1·68]), with a risk difference of -1·0% (-3·8 to 1·9). One participant (in the telemedicine group) had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, and a further four participants were admitted to hospital (two in each group), of whom two had blood transfusions (one in each group). INTERPRETATION: Asynchronous online consultation and instruction for medical abortion and home self-medication, with uterine palpation as the only in-person component, was non-inferior to standard care with respect to rates of complete abortion, and did not affect safety, adherence, or satisfaction. FUNDING: Grand Challenges Canada and the Swedish Research Council.

Contraceptive features preferred by women at high risk of unintended pregnancy.

CONTEXT: Available contraceptives are not meeting many women's needs, as is evident by high levels of typical-use failure, method switching and discontinuation. To improve women's satisfaction with contraceptive methods, determining what features they prefer and how these preferences are satisfied by available methods and methods under development is crucial. METHODS: The importance of 18 contraceptive method features was rated by 574 women seeking abortions--a group at high risk of having unprotected intercourse and unintended pregnancies--at six clinics across the United States in 2010. For each available and potential method, the number of features present was assessed, and the percentage of these that were "extremely important" to women was calculated. RESULTS: The three contraceptive features deemed extremely important by the largest proportions of women were effectiveness (84%), lack of side effects (78%) and affordability (76%). For 91% of women, no method had all of the features they thought were extremely important. The ring and the sponge had the highest percentage of features that women deemed extremely important (67% each). Some streamlined modes of access and new contraceptive technologies have the potential to satisfy women's preferences. For example, an over-the-counter pill would have 71% of extremely important features, and an over-the-counter pericoital pill, 68%; currently available prescription pills have 60%. CONCLUSION: The contraceptive features women want are largely absent from currently available methods. Developing and promoting methods that are more aligned with women's preferences presumably could help increase satisfaction and thereby encourage consistent and effective use.

Bolstering the Evidence Base for Integrating Abortion and HIV Care: A Literature Review.

HIV-positive women have abortions at similar rates to their HIV-negative counterparts, yet little is known about clinical outcomes of abortion for HIV-positive women or the best practices for abortion provision. To fill that gap, we conducted a literature review of clinical outcomes of surgical and medication abortion among HIV-positive women. We identified three studies on clinical outcomes of surgical abortion among HIV-positive women; none showed significant differences in infectious complications by HIV status. A review of seven articles on similar gynecological procedures found no differences in complications by HIV status. No studies evaluated medication abortion among HIV-positive women. However, we did find that previously expressed concerns regarding blood loss and vomiting related to medication abortion for HIV-positive women are unwarranted based on our review of data showing that significant blood loss and vomiting are rare and short lived among women. We conclude that although there is limited research that addresses clinical outcomes of abortion for HIV-positive women, existing data suggest that medication and surgical abortion are safe and appropriate. Sexual and reproductive health and HIV integration efforts must include both options to prevent maternal mortality and morbidity and to ensure that HIV-positive women and women at risk of HIV can make informed reproductive decisions.

Contraception use and effectiveness among women in a trial of the diaphragm for HIV prevention.

BACKGROUND: There is little data on contraceptive effectiveness or use patterns from sub-Saharan Africa. STUDY DESIGN: We analyzed data from women at risk of pregnancy (n=4905) in the Methods for Improving Reproductive Health in Africa trial of the diaphragm for HIV prevention. We described reported contraceptive method use and calculated rates of pregnancy by contraceptive method. We compared time to first pregnancy by study arm (condoms or condoms plus diaphragm), and estimated a Cox proportional hazards model to identify predictors of pregnancy. RESULTS: Condoms (25.8%), injectables (25.4%) and OC (21.6%) were the most commonly used methods; long-acting method use was rare. During the trial, 51.6% of women used the same method, 27.4% switched to a more effective method and 20.9% switched to a less effective method; 21.4% of women became pregnant. Pregnancy rates by contraceptive group mirrored published estimates; frequency of study product use was not associated with pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Long-acting methods of contraception should be made available in HIV prevention trials and to women in Southern Africa.