Purpose: Attitudes and behaviors are important to understand how to increase access to abortion care.
Background: There remains a gap in studying Values Clarification sessions (VCs) among non-physicians. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of VCs on nurses’ attitudes and participation in abortion care.
Methods: VCs were held with labor and delivery nursing in Indianapolis, where abortions are performed for maternal/fetal indications. In the Fall of 2019, surveys were administered regarding attitudes towards and current/future involvement in abortion care. Data were analyzed via paired t-test to compare differences for Likert scale items and McNemar’s test with a false discovery rate (FDR) for dichotomized questions.
Results: Increased agreement with availability of abortion services (AoAS) to any person who requests them (pre-mean 3.8/5, post-mean 4.1/5, p=0.031) and non-lethal fetal anomalies regardless of trimester (first: pre-mean 3.3/5, post-mean 3.7/5, p=0.003; second: pre-mean 3.1/5, post-mean 3.5/5, p=0.006; third: pre-mean 2.5/5, post-mean 2.9/5, p=0.004) were noted. Increased agreement with AoAS in the third trimester for lethal fetal anomalies (pre-mean 3.6/5, post-mean 3.9/5, p=0.037) and maternal health conditions (pre-mean 3.3/5, post-mean 3.6/5, p=0.019) were found. Nurses expressed increased agreement with AoAS after viability (pre-mean 3.1/5, post-mean 3.5/5, p=0.017). Increased intention to participate in care did not reach the level of statistical significance.
Discussions: There was increased agreement by nurses with the provision of abortion in various contexts and a trend towards increased comfort with participation in care. Further research should explore interventions in different contexts in order to understand how to increase AoAS.
Topics: CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting, 2021, Resident, Faculty, Clerkship Director, Osteopathic Faculty, Residency Director, Patient Care, Professionalism, Systems-Based Practice & Improvement, Interpersonal & Communication Skills, CME, Quality & Safety, Public Health, Advocacy, Contraception or Family Planning,
Michael Belmonte, MD, Indiana University Obstetrics and Gynecology; Caroline Rouse, MD; Caitlin Bernard, MD, MSc
