title: Experiences and characteristics of women seeking and completing at-home medical termination of pregnancy through online telemedicine in Ireland and Northern Ireland: a population-based analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the characteristics and experiences of women in Ireland and Northern Ireland seeking at-home medical termination of pregnancy (TOP) using online telemedicine.
  
  
  METHODS
  Population-based study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ireland and Northern Ireland.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2015, 5650 women requested at-home medical TOP through online telemedicine initiative Women on Web.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined the demographics and circumstances of women requesting medical TOP and examined the experiences of the 1023 women who completed TOP between January 2010 and December 2012. We conducted a content analysis of women's evaluations and used logistic regression to examine factors associated with lack of emotional support during and after TOP MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Satisfaction with TOP; feelings before and after TOP; emotional support during TOP.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women requesting TOP were diverse with respect to age, pregnancy circumstances and reasons for seeking TOP. Among those completing TOP, 97% felt they made the right choice and 98% would recommend it to others in a similar situation. Women commonly reported serious mental stress caused by their pregnancies and their inability to afford travel abroad to access TOP. The feelings women most commonly reported after completing TOP were 'relieved' (70%) and 'satisfied' (36%). Women with financial hardship had twice the risk of lacking emotional support (odds ratio = 2.0, P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The vast majority of women who completed at-home medical TOP through Women on Web had a positive experience. These demonstrated benefits to health and wellbeing contribute new evidence to the debate surrounding abortion laws in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Irish and Northern Irish women completing at-home medical TOP report benefits for health, wellbeing and autonomy.
authors.affiliation: LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.|Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Ara
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aiken
authors.affiliation: Women on Web, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gomperts
authors.affiliation: Office of Population Research, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.|Chalmers Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Trussell
mesh_terms: D000023:Abortion Applicants / Q000523:psychology*; D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D000359:Aftercare / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D016015:Logistic Models; D009660:Northern Ireland; D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Ireland; Northern Ireland; abortion; abortion policy; telemedicine; termination of pregnancy