Brazilian adolescents' knowledge and beliefs about abortion methods: a school-based internet inquiry

Attitudes towards abortion in male and female adolescents with diverse sexual and pregnancy experiences: a cross-sectional study

Background Research focused on adolescents' attitudes towards abortion is limited, and validated scales are not routinely used. A greater understanding of adolescents' attitudes towards abortion could better inform the sexuality education strategies targeted at this age group.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was completed by 1470 adolescents (437 males, 1033 females) aged 12-19 years and living in Perth, Australia. Participants were recruited from secondary schools, antenatal clinics and termination clinics to capture varying experiences of sexual activity and pregnancy. Survey items investigated abortion attitudes, sexual behaviour and pregnancy history alongside other demographic and psychosocial factors. Analyses included comparative means and adjusted linear regressions.

RESULTS

Sexually active participants (n = 554) and females reporting a previous abortion (n = 196) held more supportive attitudes towards abortion (P < 0.001 for both). Among sexually active females, more supportive attitudes were held by those reporting a previous abortion (β = 2.60, 95% confidence interval 0.93-4.27, P = 0.002), later age (≥16 years) at first vaginal intercourse (P < 0.001), use of oral contraception at last sex (P = 0.029), previous condom use (P < 0.001) and/or three or more oral sex partners in the previous 12 months (P = 0.005). For sexually active males, more supportive attitudes were reported by those whose female partners had used oral contraception at last sex (P = 0.013) or ever (P = 0.017). Multivariable analyses indicated that other correlates, including risky sexual behaviour, had minimal or no effect on attitudes.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescents' attitudes towards abortion appear to be influenced by their ability to personalise and contextualise the effect of a pregnancy. Associations between less-effective contraceptive use and reduced support for abortion may be explained by a diminished perceived risk of parenthood. Educational strategies should acknowledge and respond to differences in abortion attitudes as adolescents commence and navigate sexual relationships.

Abortion knowledge, attitudes and experiences among adolescent girls: a review of the literature

Adolescent girls comprise a considerable proportion of annual abortion deaths, worldwide, with 15% of all unsafe abortions taking place among girls under 20 years of age. Despite recent global attention to the health and welfare of adolescent girls, little is known about their abortion experience, particularly of those under the age of 15 years. This review examines existing peer-reviewed and grey literature on abortion-related experiences of adolescent girls, paying particular attention to girls ages 10-14. In December 2019, the authors conducted a comprehensive search of five major online resource databases, using a two-part keyword search strategy for articles from 2003 to 2019. Of the original 3,100+ articles, 1,228 were individually screened and 35 retained for inclusion in the analysis. Findings show that while adolescent girls may have knowledge of abortion in general, they lack specific knowledge of sources of care and delay care-seeking due to the fear of stigma, lack of resources and provider bias. Adolescent girls do not experience higher rates of physical complications compared to older cohorts, but they are at risk of psychosocial harm. For girls ages 10-14, abortion experience may be compounded by pregnancy due to sexual abuse or transactional sex, and they face even more barriers to care than older adolescents in terms of provider bias and lack of agency. Adolescents have unique needs and experiences around abortion, which should be accounted for in programming and advocacy. Adolescent girls need information about safe abortion at an early age and a responsive and stigma-free health system.

Mass media exposure and self-efficacy in abortion decision-making among adolescent girls and young women in Ghana: Analysis of the 2017 Maternal Health Survey

INTRODUCTION

Worldwide, 25 million unsafe abortions (45% of all abortions) occurred every year between 2010 and 2014 and 97%, occurred in low-and-middle income countries. Abortion among adolescent girls and young women (15-24 years) is a major public health issue, especially in low-and middle-income countries, including Ghana. Using data from the 2017 Maternal Health Survey, we sought to examine the association between mass media exposure and adolescent girls and young women's self-efficacy in abortion decision making.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A sample of 5,664 adolescent girls and young women in Ghana was considered in this study. Both descriptive and inferential analytical approaches were employed to analyse the data. The descriptive analytical approach involved the use of proportions to illustrate the proportion of adolescent girls and young women who had self-efficacy in abortion decision-making. Self-efficacy in abortion decision-making was derived from the question 'Could you decide on your own to get an abortion?' Respondents who answered "Yes" to this question were considered as having self-efficacy in abortion decision making. At the inferential level, a chi-square test and bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models were employed with statistical significance pegged at p-value <0.05. The results of the bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were presented using crude and adjusted odds ratios respectively.

RESULTS

Less than a quarter of adolescent girls and young women (24%) in Ghana had self-efficacy in abortion decision-making. We further found that adolescent girls and young women who were exposed to mass media had higher odds in self-efficacy in abortion decision-making compared to those who were not exposed to the mass media [AOR = 1.55, CI = 1.14-2.11]. It was also found that adolescent girls and young women aged 20-24 [AOR = 1.45, CI = 1.25-1.68], those who were cohabiting [AOR = 1.40, CI = 1.02-1.93], and those from the Ashanti region [AOR = 2.39, CI = 1.85-3.07] had higher odds on self-efficacy in abortion decision-making. On the other hand, adolescent girls and young women from the Eastern Region [AOR = 0.52, CI = 0.36-0.73] and those belonging to the Ga-Adangbe ethnic group [AOR = 0.70, CI = 0.50-0.99] had lower odds in self-efficacy in abortion decision-making.

CONCLUSION

Less than a quarter of adolescent girls and young women in Ghana have self-efficacy in abortion decision-making which can affect adolescent girls and young women's future abortion seeking behaviours. Exposure to mass media was strongly associated with self-efficacy in abortion decision making. We recommend that policy makers should promote mass media campaigns scheduled on regular intervals in order to inform the target audience about safe abortions in Ghana. This could go a long way to ensure that cases of unsafe abortions are reduced to the starkest minimum.

[Changes in prevalence of knowledge, attitudes and practices of sexuality in teenage students, Bogotá, 2011-2015]

OBJECTIVE

To present the changes in the prevalence of knowledge, attitudes and practices in high school adolescents in sexuality after an intervention process.

METHODOLOGY

Observational descriptive study. It was administered a questionnaire to 319 adolescents, attending three public schools, for five consecutive years as they progressed in school years (seventh to eleventh). Health promotion workshops were held. Changes in the prevalence were measured (identification of the menstrual cycle, emergency contraception and, condom protection, as well as parents' acceptance of contraception methods, having sex, reasons for do it and, whether they used protection in the first and last relationship). The results were compared by gender.

RESULTS

The identification of emergency contraception was increased from 52% in seventh to 70% in eleven; also, the certainty of the condom protection (from 45% to 62%, respectively). The average of the prevalence of sexual intercourse was 24%, protection in the first relationship 52% and, in the last one was 81%; no statistical differences of these variables were found when comparing them by gender. Parents' perception of acceptance of planning increased from 45% to 79%.

CONCLUSION

The program results highlighted the need to strengthen the educational processes.

Interventions for preventing unintended pregnancies among adolescents

BACKGROUND

Unintended pregnancy among adolescents represents an important public health challenge in high-income countries, as well as middle- and low-income countries. Numerous prevention strategies such as health education, skills-building and improving accessibility to contraceptives have been employed by countries across the world, in an effort to address this problem. However, there is uncertainty regarding the effects of these interventions, hence the need to review the evidence-base.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects of primary prevention interventions (school-based, community/home-based, clinic-based, and faith-based) on unintended pregnancies among adolescents.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched all relevant studies regardless of language or publication status up to November 2015. We searched the Cochrane Fertility Regulation Group Specialised trial register, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2015 Issue 11), MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, Social Science Citation Index and Science Citation Index, Dissertations Abstracts Online, The Gray Literature Network, HealthStar, PsycINFO, CINAHL and POPLINE and the reference lists of articles.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included both individual and cluster randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating any interventions that aimed to increase knowledge and attitudes relating to risk of unintended pregnancies, promote delay in the initiation of sexual intercourse and encourage consistent use of birth control methods to reduce unintended pregnancies in adolescents aged 10 years to 19 years.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two authors independently assessed trial eligibility and risk of bias, and extracted data. Where appropriate, binary outcomes were pooled using a random-effects model with a 95% confidence interval (Cl). Where appropriate, we combined data in meta-analyses and assessed the quality of the evidence using the GRADE approach.

MAIN RESULTS

We included 53 RCTs that enrolled 105,368 adolescents. Participants were ethnically diverse. Eighteen studies randomised individuals, 32 randomised clusters (schools (20), classrooms (6), and communities/neighbourhoods (6). Three studies were mixed (individually and cluster randomised). The length of follow up varied from three months to seven years with more than 12 months being the most common duration. Four trials were conducted in low- and middle- income countries, and all others were conducted in high-income countries. Multiple interventionsResults showed that multiple interventions (combination of educational and contraceptive-promoting interventions) lowered the risk of unintended pregnancy among adolescents significantly (RR 0.66, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.87; 4 individual RCTs, 1905 participants, moderate quality evidence. However, this reduction was not statistically significant from cluster RCTs. Evidence on the possible effects of interventions on secondary outcomes (initiation of sexual intercourse, use of birth control methods, abortion, childbirth, sexually transmitted diseases) was not conclusive.Methodological strengths included a relatively large sample size and statistical control for baseline differences, while limitations included lack of biological outcomes, possible self-report bias, analysis neglecting clustered randomisation and the use of different statistical tests in reporting outcomes. Educational interventionsEducational interventions were unlikely to significantly delay the initiation of sexual intercourse among adolescents compared to controls (RR 0.95, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.27; 2 studies, 672 participants, low quality evidence).Educational interventions significantly increased reported condom use at last sex in adolescents compared to controls who did not receive the intervention (RR 1.18, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.32; 2 studies, 1431 participants, moderate quality evidence).However, it is not clear if the educational interventions had any effect on unintended pregnancy as this was not reported by any of the included studies. Contraceptive-promoting interventionsFor adolescents who received contraceptive-promoting interventions, there was little or no difference in the risk of unintended first pregnancy compared to controls (RR 1.01, 95% CI 0.81 to 1.26; 2 studies, 3,440 participants, moderate quality evidence).The use of hormonal contraceptives was significantly higher in adolescents in the intervention group compared to those in the control group (RR 2.22, 95% CI 1.07 to 4.62; 2 studies, 3,091 participants, high quality evidence)

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

A combination of educational and contraceptive-promoting interventions appears to reduce unintended pregnancy among adolescents.  Evidence for programme effects on biological measures is limited. The variability in study populations, interventions and outcomes of included trials, and the paucity of studies directly comparing different interventions preclude a definitive conclusion regarding which type of intervention is most effective.

Decision making on unsafe abortions in Sri Lanka: a case-control study

BACKGROUND

Following an unintended pregnancy, not every woman would invariably choose to undergo an unsafe abortion. It suggests that in the decision making process, women face both 'push' factors that favour abortion and 'pull' factors that work against it. This study assessed the circumstances that surrounded a woman's decision to undergo an unsafe abortion, compared to a decision to continue, when faced with an unintended pregnancy in Sri Lanka.

METHODS

An unmatched case-control study was conducted among 171 women admitted to nine hospitals in eight districts following an unsafe abortion (Cases) and 600 women admitted to the same hospitals for delivery of an unintended term pregnancy (Controls). Interviewer-administered-questionnaires and in-depth interviews assessed women's characteristics, decision making process and underlying reasons for their decision. The risk of abortion related to their decision making was assessed using odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).

RESULTS

Compared to controls, the cases were significantly less-educated, employed, unmarried and primi-gravid (p < 0.05). All knew the 'illegal' status of abortion, mainly through media (65.5% cases versus 80% controls). When making a decision, the risk of undergoing an unsafe abortion was significant among those who sought assistance (44% versus 32%; OR = 1.7 (95% CI = 1.2-2.4)), with more reliance placed on non-medical sources such as spouse/partner, friend, neighbour and family/relation. Speaking to women with past experience of induced abortions (31% versus 21.5%; OR = 1.6 (1.1-2.4) and failure in making the final decision with partners also imparted a significant risk for abortion (64% versus 34%; OR = 3.4; 2.4-4.8). A decision favouring unsafe abortion was predominantly based on their economic instability (29.5%) and poor support by partners (14%), whereas a decision against it was based on ethical considerations (44% religious beliefs: 12% social stigma) over its legal implications (4%). Most abortions were performed by unqualified persons (36.1% self proclaimed abortionists; 26.2% not revealed their qualifications) for a wide range of payment in non-sterile environments (45.9% unknown place) using septic procedures (38.5% trans-vaginal insertions; 24.6% unaware of the procedure).

CONCLUSIONS

Women's risk of unsafe abortion was associated with unreliable sources of information during decision making that led to poor knowledge and positive attitudes on its safety; poor access to affordable abortion services; and their economic instability.