The COVID-19 pandemic triggered the rapid implementation of innovations to reduce contact between patients and providers, including providing medication abortions without prior clinical exams or ultrasounds. The No-Test Medication Abortion (NTMA) study team expeditiously formed a cohesive working group and created infrastructure to collect data on patients receiving this model of care. Similarly other service ...Read more >

We request this Society of Family Planning research funding to address two of SFPRF’s priorities in generating evidence for novel abortion services: (1) to what extent does medication abortion with telemedicine shift abortion access for specific US patient populations and geographies? and (2) what are best practices in patient-provider communications related to improving telemedicine service ...Read more >

The requirement of ultrasound to determine gestational age prior to medication abortion remains a common practice and creates an access issue. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, we began providing medication abortion without an ultrasound to patients with a reasonably sure last menstrual period (LMP) and a low risk for ectopic pregnancy. From our experience and ...Read more >

COVID-19 prompted healthcare organizations to innovate and adopt novel models for delivering abortion to their patients safely and with minimal contact. This project studies patients’ experiences of COVID-19-related telemedicine abortion, including mifepristone delivery, and examines the extent to which telemedicine shifted abortion access for patients served by the Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) primary care network ...Read more >

In Spring 2020 amidst the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, UCLA Health implemented a no-test telemedicine abortion (NTTA) model of care, wherein women could access a medication abortion without an ultrasound or in-person clinic visit. Utilizing the strengths of our multi-disciplinary team, the proposed mixed-methods project seeks to examine potential differences between NTTA and clinic-based ...Read more >

Little is known about patients’ experiences of grief after abortion for fetal indications or pregnancy complications in the second trimester. The typical grief response is a process of expected distress during the acute grief period with a transition to integrated grief marked by the development of healthy coping skills and acceptance of the loss. While ...Read more >

We plan to perform a multi-phase project, using implementation science methodologies, to explore pharmacist provision of medication abortion. We will perform an online survey, followed by semi-structured interviews with pharmacists currently prescribing contraception to identify barriers and facilitators to pharmacist provision of medication abortion. The survey and interviews will explore feasibility, acceptability and appropriateness of ...Read more >

Lifetime intimate partner violence (IPV) among individuals seeking abortion is estimated to be between 26% and 39%. The economic and psychosocial stressors associated with COVID-19 mandatory lockdowns have resulted in increased IPV. The prevalence of medication abortion has increased over the past decade, while surgical abortion has decreased. Yet individuals who are not safe at ...Read more >

This is a qualitative study aiming to understand Latinx individuals’ attitudes, experiences and decision making with abortion. We propose an exploratory study of Latinx women from 3 US metropolitan areas with the largest Latinx population: Los Angeles, New York City and Miami. We will recruit participants using social media and confirm history of abortion prior ...Read more >

Early pregnancy loss (EPL) is defined as a nonviable, intrauterine pregnancy prior to 13 weeks of gestation. In the United States, there are about 1 million EPLs per year. In the ED setting, treating EPL can be challenging. ED physicians normally recommend Obstetrics and Gynecology (Ob/Gyn) outpatient or inpatient consult often leading to a delay ...Read more >