Study highlights the growing reliance on telehealth and mail for medication abortions, ensuring access for individuals living in restricted or distant areas.
Impact of Distance on Telehealth Access for Abortion Pills
Go to source). The study published in American Journal of Public Health highlights that patients residing far from an abortion facility depend on the pills being mailed to them.
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Multiple Pregnancy Calculator assesses your pregnancy symptoms and finds if you are pregnant with twins or triplets or more. Multiple Pregnancy Calculator offers tips for pregnant women.
Multiple Pregnancy Calculator assesses your pregnancy symptoms and finds if you are pregnant with twins or triplets or more. Multiple Pregnancy Calculator offers tips for pregnant women.
‘Did you know?
About 22 states in the U.S. have high restrictions to access #abortion. #US #medindia ’
About 22 states in the U.S. have high restrictions to access #abortion. #US #medindia ’
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How Telehealth Changed Abortion Access During COVID-19
The research began during the COVID-19 pandemic as patients began to get abortion medications through telehealth and mail as a novel approach. However, patients continued the same way to receive their medications rather than visiting an abortion services facility.The research was conducted between 2020 and 2022, before the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which overturned the constitutional right to an abortion. The investigators acquired electronic medical record data from Aid Access users in 21 states and Washington, D.C. Aid Access is a nonprofit that works with clinicians across the country who provide patients with FDA-approved abortion pills. Western states included in the study were Washington, Idaho, Oregon, California, Alaska, and Nevada.
The researchers tallied telehealth requests for medication abortion from 8,411 individuals. “With abortion now banned or highly restricted in 22 U.S. states, telehealth abortion services are necessary to maintain essential reproductive health services,” the authors concluded in the paper.
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Coffee Effects on Pregnancy, Breastfeeding, Abortion
Decaf coffee or avoiding coffee is better for baby if you are pregnant. If you do drink have a maximum of a cup or two.
Decaf coffee or avoiding coffee is better for baby if you are pregnant. If you do drink have a maximum of a cup or two.
Socioeconomic Barriers Driving Telehealth Abortion Demand
The authors used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) county-level Social Vulnerability Index to understand better the socioeconomic status of those who requested Aid Access services. The study authors found that people living in lower socioeconomic countries had a higher likelihood of seeking medication abortion via telehealth compared to persons living in higher socioeconomic countries.Researchers found that, for every 100 miles of distance from an abortion facility, the per capita probability increased by 61% that a patient would access abortion medication via telehealth. Patients accessing telehealth to obtain medication abortions now constitute 20% of all U.S. abortions, the authors noted.
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Principal Side Effects of Abortion Pills You Need to Know
Abortion pills are used in the first trimester to terminate pregnancy. Women should be aware of their side effects before opting for them.
Abortion pills are used in the first trimester to terminate pregnancy. Women should be aware of their side effects before opting for them.
Who Uses Telehealth for Abortion?
In total, medication abortions comprise 63% of all abortions in the United States, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Most individuals who obtained a medication abortion via telehealth were 20-29 years old, did not have children, and were at less than 6 weeks gestation. More than half of the total fulfilled requests went to individuals in four states: California (21%), New York (17%), Nevada (10%), and New Jersey (10%).“This study gives us an idea of the sheer volume of patients using these services,” said Anna Fiastro, a UW Medicine researcher in family medicine and co-lead author of the paper.
The study confirms that the demand for abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol has increased over time as more patients turn to telehealth and the mail in response to tighter state restrictions, Fiastro said.
“I think it is remarkable that many using the mail and telehealth option were under six weeks of pregnancy duration,” Fiastro said. This finding, she added, reflects that this type of access is quick, cost-effective, and safe. More telehealth users (51%) said they chose this option because of its low cost, compared with an in-clinic visit.
Abortion Access Restrictions Worsen Mental Health in Mothers
Severe stress caused by an inability to obtain an abortion affects the fetus and may lead to psychiatric disease or postpartum psychosis in the mother.
Severe stress caused by an inability to obtain an abortion affects the fetus and may lead to psychiatric disease or postpartum psychosis in the mother.
Rising Demand for Telehealth Abortions Amid Restrictions
During the two-year study period, telehealth medication abortion requests that did not require in-clinic testing jumped by 15 times, to more than 1,000 requests a month, the authors noted. This represented one-third of all virtual abortions before the Dobbs decision.As of March 2024, beyond the study period, licensed U.S. physicians are fulfilling close to 10,000 requests per month in states with abortion restrictions or bans, the paper stated. Maintaining access to abortion medication is a “critically necessary healthcare service,” the authors asserted. “Especially for individuals who are young, socially vulnerable, and live in counties far from abortion facilities.”
Reference:
- Impact of Distance on Telehealth Access for Abortion Pills - (https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1070060)
Source-Eurekalert
