TY - JOUR
T1 - Differences in Financial and Social Burdens Experienced by Patients Traveling for Abortion Care
AU - Addante, Amy N.
AU - Paul, Rachel
AU - Dorsey, Megan
AU - McNicholas, Colleen
AU - Madden, Tessa
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by the Society of Family Planning Research Fund grant SFPRF19-19. Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Institutes of Health, United States, Award Number UL1TR002345. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. McNicholas receives research support from Merck and serves on the Merck Global Advisory Board for Contraception. Dr. Madden serves on a data safety monitoring board for phase 4 safety studies of Bayer contraceptive products. The other authors do not have any potential conflicts of interest to report.
Funding Information:
This research was funded by the Society of Family Planning Research Fund grant SFPRF19-19 . Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Institutes of Health , United States, Award Number UL1TR002345 . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. McNicholas receives research support from Merck and serves on the Merck Global Advisory Board for Contraception. Dr. Madden serves on a data safety monitoring board for phase 4 safety studies of Bayer contraceptive products. The other authors do not have any potential conflicts of interest to report.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021
PY - 2021/9/1
Y1 - 2021/9/1
N2 - Objective: We compared perceived stress between women traveling 50 or fewer miles and more than 50 miles for abortion care. Secondary objectives were to compare individual-level stigma and hardship scores in patients by distance traveled to the clinic. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of patients presenting for care at an independent abortion clinic in southern Illinois. Participants completed a self-administered, tablet computer-based survey asking about their experiences seeking abortion, including the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Individual Level Abortion Stigma (ILAS) scale. We created a composite score to characterize patient hardship regarding abortion care (range, 0–4). We examined responses stratified by the patients’ self-reported one-way distance traveled to the clinic (group 1, ≤50 miles; group 2, >50 miles). Results: A total of 308 women completed the survey. There was no significant difference in mean PSS scores (p = .71) or median ILAS scores (p = .40) between groups. A majority of the cohort reported moderate or high stress (68.2%). The median hardship score was significantly higher in the greater than 50 mile group (median, 1 [interquartile range, 0–2] vs. 2 [interquartile range 1–3]; p < .001). Patients who traveled more than 50 miles reported difficulties related to missing work (58.3%), delays in obtaining an abortion owing to financial costs (35.7%), lodging (13.9%), and transportation (11.3%). Conclusions: There was no difference in PSS or ILAS scores by distance traveled among patients seeking an abortion; however, patients who traveled more than 50 miles had a higher hardship score, suggesting greater difficulty accessing abortion. The most common difficulties encountered included missing time from work and financial costs associated with the abortion.
AB - Objective: We compared perceived stress between women traveling 50 or fewer miles and more than 50 miles for abortion care. Secondary objectives were to compare individual-level stigma and hardship scores in patients by distance traveled to the clinic. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of patients presenting for care at an independent abortion clinic in southern Illinois. Participants completed a self-administered, tablet computer-based survey asking about their experiences seeking abortion, including the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Individual Level Abortion Stigma (ILAS) scale. We created a composite score to characterize patient hardship regarding abortion care (range, 0–4). We examined responses stratified by the patients’ self-reported one-way distance traveled to the clinic (group 1, ≤50 miles; group 2, >50 miles). Results: A total of 308 women completed the survey. There was no significant difference in mean PSS scores (p = .71) or median ILAS scores (p = .40) between groups. A majority of the cohort reported moderate or high stress (68.2%). The median hardship score was significantly higher in the greater than 50 mile group (median, 1 [interquartile range, 0–2] vs. 2 [interquartile range 1–3]; p < .001). Patients who traveled more than 50 miles reported difficulties related to missing work (58.3%), delays in obtaining an abortion owing to financial costs (35.7%), lodging (13.9%), and transportation (11.3%). Conclusions: There was no difference in PSS or ILAS scores by distance traveled among patients seeking an abortion; however, patients who traveled more than 50 miles had a higher hardship score, suggesting greater difficulty accessing abortion. The most common difficulties encountered included missing time from work and financial costs associated with the abortion.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85110518576&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.whi.2021.06.002
DO - 10.1016/j.whi.2021.06.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 34266708
AN - SCOPUS:85110518576
VL - 31
SP - 426
EP - 431
JO - Women's Health Issues
JF - Women's Health Issues
SN - 1049-3867
IS - 5
ER -