Provider experiences and practices for adolescent and young adult telehealth medication abortion care and support in the US South
Abortion
Awarded 2026
Emerging Scholars in Family Planning
Sofia Filippa, MPH
Emory University
$7,500

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) face compounded barriers to abortion care, most saliently in the US South where most states have implemented total or early gestational bans as well as parental involvement laws. Amid this context, AYAs in the South might increasingly be turning to medication abortion via telehealth (TMAB), yet documentation of best practices for supporting AYAs within TMAB has been limited. It is crucial to understand how the ecosystem of abortion care and support providers is responding to AYAs’ distinct dimensions of care and support needs within TMAB, as this could inform essential AYA-tailored approaches and improve person-centered TMAB care. As such, this project proposes a qualitative study utilizing semi-structured in-depth interviews with 20 care and support providers, including clinicians, staffers at abortion support hotlines, abortion funds and practical support organizations, as well as doulas and acompañantes. Applying a thematic analysis approach, the objective will be to assess the experiences of providers serving AYAs who seek and/or receive TMAB in the South, with a focus on understanding a) practices for medical, logistical, financial, informational, legal and emotional care and support, b) perceptions on the quality of care and support provided, and c) identified gaps in current practices. This project is proposed by Sofia Filippa, MPH (she/her), a PhD student in the Behavioral, Social and Health Education Sciences Department at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health and Doctoral Fellow at the Center for Reproductive Health Research in the Southeast (RISE).