title: Determinants of late presentation for induced abortion care.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether demographic or patient factors contribute to later presentation (10 to 12 weeks' gestational age) for induced abortion in a Canadian abortion clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women attending a hospital-based abortion clinic between April and September 2012 were asked to complete a survey. The characteristics of women who presented early (EPs; gestational age < 10 weeks) were compared with those of late presenters (LPs; gestational age ≥ 10 weeks) using t tests for means and Fisher exact tests for rates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among women referred to the clinic by a primary care provider, LPs were more likely than EPs to report "a delay in obtaining a referral" (20.8% vs. 6.1%; P = 0.007). While there was no significant difference between the groups in reporting that "someone tried to discourage [them] from having an abortion" (26.45% for EPs, 32.4% for LPs; P = 0.421), LPs were more likely to report that discouragement "caused a delay in making arrangements" (45.5% vs. 16.7%; P = 0.019). Of women who had access to a primary care provider, it was more common for the primary care provider to be aware of the pregnancy among LPs than among EPs (80.6% vs. 63.1%; P = 0.015).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Some women delay presenting for abortion because of discouragement from friends and family. It is unclear whether there are educational or policy interventions that can have an impact on this delay, and this warrants further study. There may be ways of addressing the delay in referral by primary care providers. Further study into the causes for delay in referral for abortion is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Queen's University, Kingston ON.
authors.forename: Ashley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Waddington
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Queen's University, Kingston ON.
authors.forename: Philip M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Queen's University, Kingston ON.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reid
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: abortion; delayed presentation; gestational age