Women's opinions on the home management of early medical abortion in the UK.
METHODS
This survey was undertaken to obtain the opinions of women in the UK about their home management of early medical abortion (EMA) with mifepristone and misoprostol. All eligible women undergoing EMA at any BPAS clinic during a 2-week period were invited to participate. Women were contacted by telephone 1 week after the EMA and a five-item structured questionnaire was administered. One open-ended question gave women the opportunity to freely comment. Demographics and responses were tabulated using descriptive statistics. Mulitivariable logistic regression was used to assess the influence of demographic characteristics on responses.


RESULTS
Of 249 enrolled participants, 162 were successfully surveyed (a 65% response rate). Most respondents (86%) would rather go home to complete an EMA than remain in a clinical setting. The majority (96%) found home management very or somewhat acceptable and 96% felt they could have obtained medical help easily if necessary. Most respondents (62%) would prefer home use of misoprostol as opposed to returning to the clinic to obtain and use the medication. Women were less likely to prefer home management if they were Asian (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.05-0.87) or had a gestational age >49 days (OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.10-0.71).


CONCLUSIONS
Home management of EMA is acceptable to most women in the UK who have experienced it and is, for many, preferable to a clinical setting. Consideration should be given to updating the interpretation of the UK's 1967 Abortion Act to allow home administration of misoprostol.
Lohr
Patricia A
PA
BPAS (British Pregnancy Advisory Service), Stratford upon Avon, UK. patricia.lohr@bpas.org
Wade
Josephine
J
Riley
Laura
L
Fitzgibbon
Abigail
A
Furedi
Ann
A
D000020:Abortifacient Agents, Nonsteroidal / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000021:Abortifacient Agents, Steroidal / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D015735:Mifepristone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016595:Misoprostol / Q000008:administration & dosage; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult
D000020:Abortifacient Agents, Nonsteroidal; D000021:Abortifacient Agents, Steroidal; D016595:Misoprostol; D015735:Mifepristone