While access to family planning services, including highly effective contraceptive methods, has expanded significantly as a result of the Affordable Care Act, access to family planning services remains limited for certain populations, including new immigrants. This project seeks to examine the factors influencing Latino immigrants’ access to family planning services in South Carolina. The state ...Read more >

Objectives: North Carolina has one of the fastest growing Latino populations, yet providers have minimal information on how to address the family planning needs of this population. We explored three domains relating to postpartum care: family size intentions; influence of social networks in family planning decisions; and satisfaction with contraceptive care. Methods: We conducted semi-structured ...Read more >

Objective: To compare the probability of pregnancy after hysteroscopic compared to laparoscopic sterilization procedures. Methods: An evidence-based clinical decision analysis using a Markov model was performed to estimate the probability of pregnancy after a hysteroscopic sterilization procedure, a laparoscopic sterilization procedure with bipolar coagulation, and a laparoscopic sterilization procedure with silicone rubber band application over ...Read more >

Background: The web is an increasingly popular avenue for information gathering and political claims-making. To date, there has been no comprehensive investigation of online content about abortion. Recent research on Internet usage finds that women—and particularly users between 18 and 49, women’s reproductive years—regularly seek health information online, and search for information on abortion in ...Read more >

Purpose: Adolescents are at high risk for unintended pregnancy and abortion. Medication abortion accounts for 21% of early abortions in the US, and is well-tolerated and efficacious among adolescents. The purpose of this study is to understand if providers caring for adolescents have accurate knowledge to counsel on medication abortion. Methods: Using an online questionnaire, ...Read more >

Objectives: Traditional contraceptive counseling has not been reliably associated with reducing unintended pregnancies, or led to increasing contraceptive uptake and continuation. This community based participatory research project aimed to identify appropriate interventions for both young women and contraceptive providers to support shared decision making within contraceptive conversations. Methods: Focus groups were conducted with nine groups ...Read more >

Objective: The goal of this study was to evaluate oral mifepristone 24 hours prior to vaginal versus buccal misoprostol as cervical preparation prior to second-trimester dilation and evacuation. Study Design: Women desiring abortion between gestational ages 16 weeks 0 days and 20 weeks 6 days were randomized to 200-mg mifepristone 20-24 hours and 400-mcg vaginal ...Read more >

Objectives: A 2008-2009 national survey estimated that 14% of obstetrician-gynecologists provide abortion care. We aimed to update this estimate and document barriers to provision. Methods: In 2016-2017, we performed a survey with a representative sample of Fellows of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The survey was sent by email with an online link, ...Read more >

Objectives: to review the literature to quantify the risk of major adverse events linked to contraceptive methods and pregnancy; to supplement these findings using analyses from a large insurance claims database; to create a Markov model predicting risk of adverse events, and to develop a prototype smartphone app as a prototype that could serve as ...Read more >

The majority of all abortions in developing countries are performed in unsafe or illegal conditions, the consequences of which can be severe—including infection, infertility, and death. To understand the use and sequelae of illegal abortion and the effects of access to safe abortion services, a prospective longitudinal study of women with unwanted pregnancies is needed. ...Read more >