title: Changes in the use of manual vacuum aspiration for postabortion care within the public healthcare service network in Honduras.
abstract: Honduras is one of the 17 priority countries included in the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) Initiative for the Prevention of Unsafe Abortion and its Consequences. The priority category enables the country to request emergency funding to acquire services or commodities that could contribute toward achieving the objectives laid out in its plan of action. These objectives include improving postabortion care by increasing the use of manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) as an outpatient procedure with minimal human and material resources. Since the Ministry of Health lacked funding, use of the emergency fund was approved for the purchase and distribution of MVA kits nationwide to ensure continuity and the hope of increasing MVA use. Eleven hospitals participating in this initiative provided data for analysis of the outcome. These data show no increase in MVA use; however, as discussed in the article, further investigation provided valuable information on the reasons behind these results.
authors.affiliation: National University Teaching Hospital, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Electronic address: ligiachinchilla@yahoo.com.mx.
authors.forename: Ana Ligia
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Chinchilla
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Health, Ministry of Health, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
authors.forename: Ivo Flores
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Health and Research, Pan American Health Organization, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
authors.forename: Alma Fabiola
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Morales
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Health Program, Department of Social Security, San Salvador, El Salvador.
authors.forename: Marina Padilla
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: de Gil
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000379:methods*; D000359:Aftercare / Q000379:methods*; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006721:Honduras; D006801:Humans; D007390:International Agencies / Q000458:organization & administration; D011247:Pregnancy; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods; D014619:Vacuum Curettage / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Curettage; FIGO initiative; Honduras; Manual vacuum aspiration; Postabortion care; Prevention; Public healthcare services; Unsafe abortion