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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Sheryl Thorburn Bird, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, Oregon State University, 264 Waldo Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331-6406, 541-737-9493, Sheryl.Bird@oregonstate.edu, S. Marie Harvey, DrPH, Research Program on Women's Health, Center for the Study of Women in Society, University of Oregon, 1201 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1201, Linda J Beckman, PhD, Clinical Ph.D. Program, California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, 1000 S. Freemont Avenue, Unit 5, Alhambra, CA 91803, Mark Nichols, MD, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oregon Health & Sciences University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR 97201, and Paul D. Blumenthal, MD, MPH, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University, 4940 Eastern Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21224.
Little is known about male involvement in abortion in the U.S. In this study, we explored (a) the involvement of men in women’s decisions to have an abortion, (b) men’s support of abortion decisions and during the period immediately following an abortion, and (c) the relationship between men’s involvement and women’s abortion experience. The study was part of a project that compared the acceptability of two surgical abortion methods (manual vacuum aspiration [MVA] versus electric vacuum aspiration [EVA]). A total of 127 women requesting pregnancy terminations in three cities (Portland, OR; San Diego; and Baltimore) were randomly assigned to either MVA or EVA. Participants completed questionnaires before their abortions and 30 minutes afterwards. Follow-up data were collected two weeks later from 66% of participants. Results indicated that many participants perceived that the men with whom they became pregnant were involved and supportive of their decisions to have an abortion: 74% reported that the men were involved in their decisions, and 79% indicated that the men were supportive. In addition, 83% of follow-up participants reported that the men were supportive during the period following the abortion. Male involvement was not associated with self-reported anxiety or pain, or with expectations about the abortion procedure. However, 99% of participants who reported that the man had been supportive after their abortion were satisfied with their abortion method, compared to 69% of those who said the man was unsupportive (p < .01). Implications of the findings will be discussed.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Abortion, Reproductive Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: The Laufe Fund at IPAS
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Partial funding for this study ($10,000) was received from the Laufe Fund at IPAS.