title: Prevalence and Correlates of Having a Regular Physician among Women Presenting for Induced Abortion.
abstract: To determine the prevalence and correlates of having a regular physician among women presenting for induced abortion.
  
  
  
  We conducted a retrospective review of women presenting to an urban, university-based family planning clinic for abortion between January 2008 and September 2011. We conducted bivariate analyses, comparing women with and without a regular physician, and multivariable regression modeling, to identify factors associated with not having a regular physician.
  
  
  
  Of 834 women, 521 (62.5%) had a regular physician and 313 (37.5%) did not. Women with a prior pregnancy, live birth, or spontaneous abortion were more likely than women without these experiences to have a regular physician. Women with a prior induced abortion were not more likely than women who had never had a prior induced abortion to have a regular physician. Compared with women younger than 18 years, women aged 18 to 26 years were less likely to have a physician (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.10-0.62). Women with a prior live birth had increased odds of having a regular physician compared with women without a prior pregnancy (aOR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.13-3.16). Women without medical/fetal indications and who had not been victims of sexual assault (self-indicated) were less likely to report having a regular physician compared with women with medical/fetal indications (aOR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.17-0.82).
  
  
  
  The abortion visit is a point of contact with a large number of women without a regular physician and therefore provides an opportunity to integrate women into health care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Section of Family Planning and Contraceptive Research, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. Electronic address: jchormd@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chor
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Section of Family Planning and Contraceptive Research, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Luciana E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Hebert
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Section of Family Planning and Contraceptive Research, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Lee A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Hasselbacher
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Section of Family Planning and Contraceptive Research, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Amy K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Whitaker
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010820:Physicians; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult