Abortion patients are often unable to access contraceptive information and methods, due primarily to policies that restrict funding and insurance coverage as well as the separation of abortion from other types of healthcare. The ability of providers to deliver quality contraceptive services in abortion care has become even more constrained in the post-Dobbs landscape, with changing policies and a surge in travel patients. We propose a policy-relevant study to center the needs of travel and in-state abortion patients and highlight factors affecting contraceptive access and autonomy in our current policy context.

This study will make use of a novel approach to addressing existing disparities in abortion and contraceptive access via the Southwest Contraceptive Access Network (SCAN). SCAN is a pilot project designed to provide clinic-individualized training and capacity building to deliver person-centered contraceptive services. Working with two recently trained abortion clinics in IL and KS, we propose a convergent parallel mixed methods design by recruiting abortion patients for individual-depth interviews to assess their contraceptive counseling and care experiences and to quantitatively evaluate contraceptive agency and contraceptive choices among a larger survey sample. Throughout this process, we will engage both a Community Advisory Board and a Youth Advisory Board to co-create research questions, to provide ongoing feedback on our interpretations, and to center their perspectives in dissemination of the findings. With these data, we will generate high-quality evidence to inform both clinical practice and potential policy advances for travel and in-state abortion patients with unmet contraceptive care needs.