title: Multiple determinants of the abortion care experience: from the patient's perspective.
abstract: Because of the highly stigmatized nature of abortion care delivery and the restriction of abortion provision in most states, little is known about abortion care quality beyond procedural safety. This study examined which aspects of abortion care contributed to patient experiences. Data from a prospective, observational study of 9087 women aged 16 to 44 years, from 22 clinics across California, who responded to a postprocedure survey, were analyzed using mixed-effects logistic regression. Patient experience scores were very high (mean overall satisfaction = 9.4 [0-10 scale]) for all clinicians trained in abortion provision (physicians, nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, and physician assistants). Multiple patient factors (pain rating, expectations of care, sociodemographics) and clinic-level factors (timely care, treatment by clinicians and staff) were significantly associated with patient experience. Study findings demonstrated that clinic environment, treatment by clinical staff, and managed pain levels contributed to a patient's experience of abortion care, whereas clinician type was not significantly associated.
authors.affiliation: 1University of California, San Francisco, CA.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Debbie
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Postlethwaite
authors.forename: Sheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Desai
authors.forename: E Angel
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: James
authors.forename: Amanda W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Calhoun
authors.forename: Katharine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sheehan
authors.forename: Tracy A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Weitz
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: abortion care quality; acceptability of provider; nurse practitioner/nurse-midwife/physician assistant; patient experience; patient satisfaction