Background: Abortion training is critical to increase access for
the 39% of US women who live in the 90% of counties with no abortion care.
Racial/ethnic minority physicians are more likely than white physicians to care
for poor and minority patients and practice in underserved
areas.1 We explored racial and ethnic differences in residents’
interest in providing abortions in ob/gyn, the most racially diverse ACGME
residency.
1. Marrast LM, Zallman L, Woolhandler S, Bor
DH, McCormick D. JAMA Intern Med 2014;174:289–91.
Methods: Using Ryan Residency Program post-rotation survey data
collected in 2015-2018, we assessed intention to provide abortion and training
participation by resident race/ethnicity.
Results: The majority of residents (658, 79%) completed
surveys. Respondents were: 412(65%) white, 50(8%) black, 27(4%)
Hispanic/Latino, 118(19%) Asian, and 24(4%) other. Overall, 57% intended to
provide abortion for all indications and 82% for pregnancy complications.
The proportions that planned to provide abortions by race/ethnicity were: 70%
of Asian, 63% of Latino, 54% of white and 48% of black. While in bivariate
analysis Asians were more likely than whites to intend provision (p 0.003),
there were no difference by race/ethnicity when controlling for religion and
abortion attitudes, which were both associated with intention (p<0.05).
There was also no difference in training participation by race/ethnicity.
Discussions: The majority of residents overall planned to include abortion
in their practice. Increasing resident diversity may close the abortion access
gap in the US by providing care in underserved areas.
Topics: CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting, 2019, Student, Resident, Faculty, Residency Director, Residency Coordinator, Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, UME, Public Health, Contraception or Family Planning,
Katherine Brown,
MD, UCSF;
Jema Turk,
MPA, MA, PhD; Andrea Jackson, MD, MAS; Jody
Steinauer, MD, MAS
