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Objectives: We test whether the level of acculturation is associated with reproductive autonomy among Mexican-origin Latinas in Oregon., Study Design: This was a cross-sectional study that used validated reproductive autonomy and language-based acculturation scales and sociodemographic information. We compared maximum reproductive autonomy score, overall and for each subscale (decision-making, freedom from coercion, and communication), by acculturation group. We developed a multivariable logistic regression model adjusted for age, education, and regular income source., Results: Our sample included 434 respondents: 70.7% low, 26.7% bicultural, and 2.5% in the high acculturation group. A higher unadjusted proportion of women in the bicultural/high acculturation group than the low acculturation group had maximum reproductive autonomy scores (13.4% compared with 3.9%; p < 0.001). In adjusted analyses, women in the high/bicultural acculturation group had significantly higher odds of reporting a maximum reproductive autonomy score (adjusted odds ratio = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.08-5.98)., Conclusions: Language-based acculturation was positively associated with reproductive autonomy among a community-dwelling sample of Mexican-origin Latinas in Oregon., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: There is little evidence about how physicians become abortion clinicians or advocates. We describe the ideological trajectories of pro-choice female Mexican doctors and the factors that made them pro-choice., Study Design: In this qualitative study, we conducted semistructured interviews with members of the Mexican Network of Female Pro-choice Physicians. Participants came from eight diverse states. We used a feminist epistemology approach and analyzed data using inductive coding as well as a priori categories (becoming pro-choice, trajectories, and training)., Results: We included 24 female pro-choice physicians. We identified five intersecting factors that influenced becoming pro-choice: feminism, personal experiences, confrontation with the inequalities and violence that women experience, role models, and routine exposure to abortion care. Participants described three ideological trajectories: being pro-choice before studying medicine, not having a specific opinion, and changing from "pro-life" to "pro-choice." Participants described the absence of abortion training in medical schools, stigmatizing training, and the use of alternative training sources., Conclusions: In the absence of training on abortion during medical education, a combination of intersecting personal as well as work-related experience may turn doctors into pro-choice abortion clinicians and/or advocates. The findings of this study may be used to develop comprehensive medical curricula as well as strategies directed at doctors who have never received training on abortion care, such as promoting interactions with nonmedical abortion providers, education on inequalities and violence against women, moving beyond public health to a human rights and gender perspective, and exposure to routine safe abortion care., Implications: Mexican female doctors become pro-choice clinicians who provide abortion care and/or advocates in spite of their medical education., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Misinformation contributes to the perception that abortion has substantial health risks, despite the known safety of medication and aspiration abortion. We lack detailed information about which health risks the public believes are most likely., Objective: This study aimed to describe public perception of short- and long-term risks of abortion., Study Design: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of US residents aged ≥18 years using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). We collected information regarding participant demographics, reproductive history, political views, and position on abortion restrictions. We provided participants with a list of 9 short-term and 15 long-term possible complications and asked them to indicate whether they occurred never (0%), very rarely (<1%), rarely (1%-5%), occasionally (5%-20%), or frequently (>20%) following abortion. We used descriptive statistics to understand our population demographics and to capture the perceived incidence of all complications. We created a binary indicator of answering all risk estimates incorrectly vs at least 1 estimate correctly, separately for all long-term possible complications, and the 2 short-term risks of infection and bleeding. We determined the proportion of individuals who responded incorrectly to all questions in each category and used multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with incorrect perceptions about the risks of abortion., Results: For all listed complications, participant (N=1057) estimates of risk were higher than the known incidence. For both short-term risks of bleeding and infection, over 40% of participants reported that these outcomes occur occasionally or frequently. Similarly, for both long-term risks of depression and anxiety, over 60% of respondents reported that these outcomes occur occasionally or frequently after abortion. Participants reported that possible complications known to not be associated with abortion, including hair loss, future pregnancy complications, breast cancer, and cosmetic disfigurement, occurred at least rarely. Nearly one-quarter of participants responded that death occurs occasionally or frequently (in over 5% of abortions), and 79% of participants responded that breast cancer can result from abortion. One-quarter (24.9%) of participants incorrectly overestimated both short-term outcomes of infection and bleeding, whereas 19.5% answered all long-term complication questions incorrectly, including outcomes that never occur. On multivariable analyses, we identified that the participants most likely to incorrectly identify risks of abortion identified as Asian or Black race/ethnicity, were from rural communities, or believed that abortion should have more legal restrictions., Conclusion: The public perceives abortion to be much riskier than it actually is. This information can be used to develop targeted clinical and public health efforts to disseminate the true risks of abortion., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Much reproductive health research on the Latina population overlooks heterogeneity by national origin, nativity, and age and also ignores how U.S.-based populations differ from those in "sending" nations. The purpose of this study is to describe a history of adolescent birth, age at first sex, and contraceptive use at first sex in the Mexican-origin population in both the United States and Mexico., Methods: We developed a binational dataset merging two comparable nationally representative cross-sectional surveys in the United States and Mexico and used covariate balancing propensity scores to balance the age structure of our four samples: U.S.-born Latinas of Mexican origin, foreign-born Latinas of Mexican origin, U.S.-born non-Latina Whites, and Mexican women residing in Mexico. We used a negative binomial regression and calculated the predicted probability of experiencing at least one adolescent birth for each ethnicity/nativity group, stratified by 5-year age group. We also described age and contraceptive use at first sex., Results: Foreign-born Latinas of Mexican origin and Mexicans in Mexico had similar adjusted probabilities of reporting an adolescent birth (30.1% and 29.9%, respectively), which were higher than those of Mexican-Americans (26.2%) and U.S.-born non-Latina Whites (11.6%). History of an adolescent birth is declining across all four groups among younger ages. Differences do not appear to be driven by the timing of first sex but by contraceptive use, which is increasing among younger age groups., Discussion: Access to and use of effective contraception rather than timing of initiation of sexual activity is a key determinant of U.S. Latina and Mexican adolescent births., (Copyright © 2022 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To describe receipt of person-centered contraceptive counseling among reproductive-aged women in the United States who sought contraceptive care at Title X clinics, non-Title X public clinics, and private clinics., Study Design: We conducted a secondary analysis of the 2017-2019 wave of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). The sample included female respondents ages 15-49 who received contraceptive services in the past year and completed the Person-Centered Contraceptive Counseling (PCCC) measure, a quality metric evaluating interpersonal quality of the care received. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate the predicted probability of receiving person-centered contraceptive counseling by source of care, adjusted for individual-level characteristics., Results: Of 2225 (weighted n = 26,599,620) eligible respondents, 6.9% received care at a Title X clinic, 8.2% at a non-Title X public clinic, and 84.9% at a private clinic. The adjusted predicted probability of receiving person-centered contraceptive counseling among respondents attending private clinics was 50.6% (95% CI 46.3%-54.8%) compared with 51.3% (95% CI 40.4%-62.3%) at Title X clinics and 52.4% (95% CI 44.0%-60.7%) at other public clinics. Respondents with incomes ≥300% above the federal poverty level (FPL) had higher odds of reporting receipt of person-centered counseling compared to those with incomes below 100% of the FPL (aOR = 2.12; 95% CI 1.47-3.06). Non-Latina Black respondents had lower odds of receiving person-centered contraceptive counseling (aOR = 0.69; 95% CI 0.51-0.94), compared to non-Latina white respondents., Conclusion: Title X clinics perform as well as the private sector in delivering person-centered contraceptive counseling., Implications: Title X clinics provide quality person-centered contraceptive counseling on par with the private sector, despite serving populations that are often less likely to report high quality care. Broad implementation of the PCCC measure will permit tracking person-centered contraceptive care across diverse practice settings and populations., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of technology-based decision aids on contraceptive use, continuation, and patient-reported and decision-making outcomes., Data Sources: A systematic search was conducted in OVID MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CENTRAL, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, and SocINDEX databases from January 2005 to April 2022. Eligible references from a concurrent systematic review evaluating contraceptive care were also included for review., Study Eligibility Criteria: Studies were included if a contraceptive decision aid was technology-based (ie, mobile/tablet application, web, or computer-based) and assessed contraceptive use and/or continuation or patient-reported outcomes (knowledge, self-efficacy, feasibility/acceptability/usability, decisional conflict). The protocol was registered under the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42021240755)., Methods: Three reviewers independently performed data abstraction and quality appraisal. Dichotomous outcomes (use and continuation) were evaluated with an odds ratio, whereas continuous outcomes (knowledge and self-efficacy) were evaluated with the mean difference. Subgroup analyses were performed for the mode of delivery (mobile and tablet applications vs web and computer-based) and follow-up time (immediate vs >1 month)., Results: This review included 18 studies evaluating 21 decision aids. Overall, there were higher odds of contraceptive use and/or continuation among decision aid users compared with controls (odds ratio, 1.27; 95% confidence interval, [1.05-1.55]). Use of computer and web-based decision aids was associated with higher odds of contraceptive use and/or continuation (odds ratio, 1.36; 95% confidence interval, [1.08-1.72]) than mobile and tablet decision aids (odds ratio, 1.27; 95% confidence interval, [0.83-1.94]). Decision aid users also had statistically significant higher self-efficacy scores (mean difference, 0.09; 95% confidence interval, [0.05-0.13]), and knowledge scores (mean difference, 0.04; 95% confidence interval, [0.01-0.07]), with immediate measurement of knowledge having higher retention than measurement after 1 month. Other outcomes were evaluated descriptively (eg, feasibility, applicability, decisional conflict) but had little evidence to support a definite conclusion. Overall, the review provided moderate-level evidence for contraceptive use and continuation, knowledge, and self-efficacy., Conclusion: The use of technology-based contraceptive decision aids to support contraceptive decision-making has positive effects on contraceptive use and continuation, knowledge, and self-efficacy. There was insufficient evidence to support a conclusion about effects on other decision-making outcomes., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To determine whether the timing of placement of long acting, reversible contraception (LARC) methods postpartum (immediate postpartum (IPP) or interval (within 6 months postpartum) is associated with higher removal rates by 12 months postpartum., Study Design: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using linked Medicaid claims and birth certificate data (n = 313,849) from Oregon and South Carolina from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2018. Our primary outcome was LARC (intrauterine device (IUD) or implant) removal by 12 months postpartum. We compared crude proportions and rates of removal and used a multivariable survival analysis to compare removal over 12 months between IPP and interval LARC placement controlling for sociodemographic and clinical factors and clustered at the woman level., Results: Our sample included 313,849 births to 247,884 women; a majority did not receive any postpartum contraception (207,058 [66.0%]). Out of the 54,018 (17.2%) of births followed by an immediate postpartum or interval LARC placement, 11.8% discontinued by 12 months. In multivariable analyses, births followed by IPP LARC were 10% more likely to experience discontinuation at any point up to 12 months compared with interval LARC (HR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.00-1.22), but this was not statistically significant., Conclusion: IPP LARC devices are removed at similar rates as LARC placed within 6 months postpartum., Implications: Timing of postpartum long acting reversible contraception- interval or immediately postpartum- was not associated with 12 month removal rates., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: To determine whether the type (intrauterine device or implant) or timing (immediately postpartum vs interval) of postpartum long-acting reversible contraception was associated with a reduction in short interpregnancy interval births., Study Design: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using linked Medicaid claims and birth certificate data from Oregon and South Carolina, 2010 to 2018. Our primary outcome was short interpregnancy interval, defined as repeat pregnancy within 18 months of the index delivery. We determined postpartum contraceptive method and timing of receipt. To assess the association of timing of long acting reversible contraception with short interpregnancy interval, we calculated adjusted probabilities from a logistic regression model incorporating covariate balanced propensity score weights, sociodemographic factors, and clustered at the woman-level., Results: Our study sample included 121,422 births to 97,084 individuals who had more than 1 birth during the study period; 41% had a short interpregnancy interval. A majority of individuals had not received any contraception by 6 months postpartum (68.6%). Overall, 15,477 individuals used long acting reversible contraception postpartum, with the majority receiving interval rather than immediate postpartum long acting reversible contraception (92.9% vs 7.1%). In multivariable analyses, both immediate postpartum (23.0%, 95% CI: 20.5%-25.8%) and interval long acting reversible contraception (15.2%, 95% CI: 14.4%-16.1%) are associated with a lower probability of short interpregnancy interval than short acting methods (42.1%, 95% CI: 41.2%-43.0%)., Conclusion: Compared to short-acting methods, receipt of both immediate postpartum and interval long-acting reversible contraception is associated with lower probabilities of a subsequent short interpregnancy interval., Implications: All long acting, reversible contraception, whether placed immediately postpartum or on an interval basis, was associated with a significantly lower probability of a short interpregnancy interval than short acting or no contraceptive method., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Dr. Rodriguez's institution has received research funding from NIH, Arnold Ventures, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Merck on grants for which she is the principal investigator. She has served as a contraceptive trainer for ACOG (current), Bayer (current), and Merck (relationship ended). Dr. Darney's institution receives research funding from the Office of Population (OPA) Affairs and Merck. These potential conflicts of interest are managed by OHSU's IRB. All other authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objectives: Acompañantes are activists who accompany women who have medication abortions outside of clinical settings. We describe models of accompaniment across 3 states in Mexico with diverse abortion laws, access, and acompañantes, and describe how acompañantes conceptualize the benefits and challenges of their work., Study Design: In this exploratory, qualitative study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 participants about their experiences as acompañantes, in 2 states with restrictive abortion legislation (Baja-California, Chiapas) at the time of research and Mexico City, where abortion is legal upon request in the first trimester. We used a feminist ethnography approach and analyzed data using a priori categories which included perceived benefits of and challenges of the accompaniment model., Results: Participants described similar steps and general characteristics of the accompaniment process regardless of the setting, supporting the concept of an overarching definition of the holistic accompaniment model for these acompañantes. Holistic accompaniment is a horizontal model that involves trusting women, not asking for the reasons for their abortion, preventing criminalization, economic support, respecting autonomy, emotional accompaniment, and being flexible. Participants described perceived advantages, including safety, even in settings otherwise unsafe, such as where women may be stigmatized and / or criminalized. Participants described benefits of autonomous abortion compared to in-clinic medication abortion or surgical abortion, and benefits specifically related to accompaniment, such as the potential to make the abortion a positive experience., Conclusions: We describe components of a holistic accompaniment model in Mexico which has specific characteristics that may benefit women who opt for out-of-clinic abortion., Implications: We describe specific characteristics of a holistic accompaniment model in Mexico; this description facilitates learning across models and could be used to better understand the similarities and differences among accompaniment models, other self-managed medication abortion models, and provider-led abortion services., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: States have passed legislation to expand the scope of pharmacists to directly prescribe contraception. It is thought that pharmacist prescription of contraception may promote correct and consistent use of contraception by reducing barriers to access. However, it is not known how this may impact ongoing contraceptive use., Objective: This study aimed to determine whether 12-month rates of continuation of an effective form of contraception or perfect use of contraception differ by prescribing provider (pharmacist or clinician)., Study Design: We conducted a 1-year prospective cohort study of 388 women seeking contraception in 139 pharmacies across 4 states (California, Colorado, Hawaii, and Oregon). Our study was powered to detect a 10% difference in 12-month continuation of an effective form of contraception. We clarified women's pregnancy intention at baseline and subsequent follow-ups. Women received a prescription directly from a pharmacist (n=149) or were filling a prescription from a clinician, our comparison group (n=239). We used multivariable logistic regression to measure the association between pharmacist prescriber and use of any effective contraceptive method or perfect use at 12 months. Model covariates included age, race, education, side effects experienced, payor, and contraceptive supply dispensed at baseline., Results: Of the study cohort, 88% (n=340) completed 12 months of follow-up. Among women not planning to become pregnant, 7 women in the clinic-prescribed group vs 1 woman in the pharmacy-prescribed group (3.4% vs 0.8%; P>.05) reported a positive pregnancy test during the study period. The majority of the cohort was continuing to use an effective method of contraception at 12 months (clinician 89.3% vs pharmacist 90.4%; P=.86). Among women receiving a prescription from a clinician, 53.9% reported perfect use (no missed days) at 12 months, compared with 47% of the pharmacist-prescribed group (P=.69). Pharmacist prescriber type was not associated with continuation of an effective contraceptive method at 12 months (adjusted odds ratio, 0.70; confidence interval, 0.28-1.71) or with perfect use of contraception (adjusted odds ratio, 0.87; confidence interval, 0.51-1.48), controlling for other woman-level characteristics., Conclusion: We found no difference in use of any effective contraception, perfect use, or switching at 12 months among those who received their baseline prescription from a pharmacist vs a clinician. This study is limited by not examining information on safety outcomes., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To evaluate whether the use of long-acting, reversible contraception (LARC) is equitably accessible to Medicaid recipients in rural and urban areas. We also determined whether women's health specialists' availability was associated with the type of LARC used., Study Design: We used claims data for 242,057 adult women who were continuously enrolled in Oregon Medicaid for at least one year and at risk of pregnancy from January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2017 to assess the association between LARC utilization and (1) rurality and (2) provider supply. Our primary analysis included 430,918 person-years. Regression models adjusted for patient age, whether the patient was newly eligible for Medicaid due to Medicaid expansion, and health status. We also examined differences in the caseload of implants and IUD by provider type (women's health specialist vs other)., Results: Among all women, 11.6% had at least one claim indicating LARC use. There was no significant difference in overall LARC use by location (urban residence +0.66%, 95% CI [-0.12%, 1.43%]), although urban residents were slightly more likely to have an IUD (+0.72%, 95% CI [0.11%, 1.33%]). An increase of one women's health specialty provider per 10,000 women was associated with a 0.14 percentage point increase in the rate of IUD utilization (95% CI: 0.02, 0.26). Compared to other providers, women's health specialty providers supplied 62% of all IUDs and 43% of all implants., Conclusion: Among Oregon's Medicaid enrollees, LARC is equitably used in rural areas; however, IUD use is slightly more frequent in urban areas., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: We measured women's preferences for avoiding an unintended pregnancy. We determined if young age (<25) was associated with lowest utility with an unintended pregnancy., Study Design: We conducted a cross sectional study of women presenting for hormonal contraception who did not desire a pregnancy. We used four techniques to elicit health prefences and calculate utilities for an unintended pregnancy: visual analog scale, and willingness to pay, time-tradeoff (TTO), and standard gamble. We dichotomized each measure to define lowest utility for each measure. We used predicted probabilities and multivariable logistic regression to estimate the association between age (≤25 vs ≥26 y) and lowest utility with an unintended pregnancy., Results: Our sample included 419 participants from four states. We found that younger age (≤25) was positively associated with reporting the lowest utility for unintended pregnancy. In absolute terms, with the visual analog scale, the probability that a woman 25 years or younger would have lower preference for an unintended pregnancy was 26.8% (95% CI 20.4-33.2%) versus (21.7% (95% CI 14.3-29.0%). Using the willingness to pay, the probability of the younger group having lower preference was 84.9% (CI 80.3-89.4%) compared to 57.3% (CI 49.3-65.3). With the TTO, Women 25 years old and younger had a 78.3% probability (CI 72.6-84.0%) of low utility on the TTO vs 48.9% (CI 40.9-56.9%) in the older group. With standard gamble, younger women had a 47.0% probability (CI 36.8-50.6%) versus 18.0% (CI 14.7-27.5%)., Conclusions: Women of all ages report a decrease in health utility with unintended pregnancy. This decrease in health utility is greater among young women (age <25)., Implications: Health utilities for unintended pregnancy can be used to guide cost effectiveness research and health policy., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: We describe provision of contraception to adolescents at Oregon school-based health centers (SBHCs). We examine trends over time, by race/ethnicity, and by Title X clinic status and test whether these factors are associated with provision of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC; intrauterine devices/IUDs and implants)., Study Design: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 33 SBHCs participating in a shared electronic health record 2012-2016. We identified 20,339 contraception provision visits to 5,934 adolescent females ages 14-19 using diagnosis and procedure codes. We used logistic regression to evaluate the association of clinic Title X status, race/ethnicity, and year with receipt of LARC, controlling for individual-, clinic-, and residence-level factors. We calculated adjusted probabilities., Results: Provision of IUDs and implants increased at Oregon SBHCs between 2012 and 2016. IUD provision increased almost 5-fold, (from 0.9% to 4.4% of contraception provision visits), and implants increased approximately 6.5-fold (from 1.1% to 7.2%). More adolescent contraception provision visits occurred at Title X SBHCs, which had greater than twice the adjusted probability of providing LARCs than non-Title X SBHCs (4.4% versus 1.7%). After adjusting for adolescent-, clinic-, and residence-level covariates, non-white adolescents had lower probabilities of receiving LARC methods than white adolescents., Conclusions: SBHCs play an important role in providing access to contraceptive services to adolescents in Oregon. Access to IUDs and implants is increasing over time in SBHCs, particularly those that participate in the Title X program., Implications: Adolescents have expanding access to IUDs and implants in SBHCs over time in Oregon. Participation in the Title X program can help further increase access to effective contraception in SBHCs., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: We sought to assess how women interpret the information they find online about the overall safety and risk of infertility associated with abortion and cesarean delivery (CD)., Methods: We conducted an exploratory, prospective study tracking the internet searches of 100 reproductive-aged individuals who identify as women. We directed participants to search for information about either (1) whether surgical abortion or CD is safe or (2) the risk of infertility following surgical abortion or CD. Our data collection had 3 phases: baseline survey, directed internet search, and a postsearch survey. We analyzed participants' pre- and postsurvey responses using bivariate tests and analyzed within-subject changes. We evaluated the sites they visited based on expert ratings of site content based on trustworthiness and slant., Results: Women perceived abortion as safer and less likely to cause infertility after their web searches than before (70% perceived abortion in the United States as very/completely safe presearch vs 92% postsearch; p < 0.02). Women's perceptions about CD did not change. Participants sought information from web pages that experts largely deemed trustworthy and lacking in slant., Conclusions: Women's perceptions about abortion safety and risk can be influenced by information they find online; perceptions about CD safety and risk may be less influenced by online information., Implications: Disseminating high quality, user-friendly abortion information on highly ranked and easily findable websites can help women find evidence-based information and influence knowledge about abortion., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: To describe reasons for and experiences with obtaining contraception from pharmacists., Study Design: Cross-sectional survey., Results: Our sample included 426 women presenting for hormonal contraception (n = 150 pharmacist prescribers). The most common reasons women chose to obtain their contraception from a pharmacist were because no appointment was required (25%) or their prescription had lapsed (24%). Women receiving contraception from pharmacists were highly satisfied (95.3% vs 100.0%; p = 0.007). Women recalled similar side-effects counseling points regardless of prescriber type (p = 0.30)., Conclusion: Women chose to obtain contraceptive care at the pharmacy because it was timely and convenient., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Prior studies have found higher proportions of cesarean deliveries and longer postpartum hospital stays among women with disabilities compared to women without disabilities. However, no research has assessed how length of stay may differ for women with different types of disability while also considering mode of delivery., Objective: To examine the association of disability status and disability type with length of stay, taking into account disability-related differences in mode of delivery., Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using linked maternal and infant hospital discharge and vital records data for all births in California between 2000 and 2012 (n = 6,745,201). We used multivariable regression analyses to assess association of disability status and type with prolonged length of stay (>2 days for vaginal delivery or >4 days for cesarean) while controlling for covariates., Results: Women with disabilities had significantly elevated adjusted odds of prolonged length of stay compared to women without disabilities (aOR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.32-1.49). Adjusted odds were highest for women with vision disabilities (aOR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.46-1.90), followed by women with IDD (aOR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.30-1.80), and women with physical disabilities (aOR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.32-1.50). Women with hearing disability had the lowest adjusted odds of prolonged length of stay (aOR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.03-1.33)., Conclusions: Prolonged length of stay did not appear to be due solely to the higher proportion of cesarean deliveries in this population. Further research is needed to better understand the reasons for prolonged length of stay among women with disabilities and develop strategies to assist women with disabilities in preparing for and recovering from childbirth., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: In 2012, South Carolina revised the Medicaid policy to cover reimbursement for immediate postpartum long-acting reversible contraception. Immediate postpartum long-acting reversible contraception may improve health outcomes for populations at risk with a subsequent short-interval pregnancy., Objectives: We examined the impact of the Medicaid policy change on the initiation of long-acting and reversible contraception (immediate postpartum and postpartum) within key populations. We determined whether immediate postpartum long-acting and reversible contraception use varied by adequate prenatal care (>7 visits), metropolitan location, and medical comorbidities. We also tested the association of immediate postpartum and postpartum long-acting, reversible contraception on interpregnancy interval of less than 18 months., Study Design: We conducted a historical cohort study of live births among Medicaid recipients in South Carolina between 2010 and 2017, 2 years before and 5 years after the policy change. We used birth certificate data linked with Medicaid claims. Our primary outcome was immediate postpartum long-acting and reversible contraception, and our secondary outcome was short interpregnancy interval. We characterize trends in long-acting and reversible contraception use and interpregnancy interval over the study period. We used logistic regression models to test the association of key factors (rural, inadequate prenatal care, and medical comorbidities) with immediate and outpatient postpartum long-acting and reversible contraception following the policy change and to test the association of immediate postpartum and postpartum long-acting and reversible contraception with short interpregnancy interval., Results: Our sample included 187,438 births to 145,973 women. Overall, 44.7% of the sample was white, with a mean age of 25.0 years. A majority of the sample (61.5%) was multiparous and resided in metropolitan areas (79.5%). The odds of receipt of immediate postpartum long-acting and reversible contraception use increased after the policy change (adjusted odds ratio, 1.39, 95% confidence interval, 1.34-1.43). Women with inadequate prenatal care (adjusted odds ratio, 1.50, 95% confidence interval, 1.31-1.71) and medically complex pregnancies had higher odds of receipt of immediate postpartum long-acting and reversible contraception following the policy change (adjusted odds ratio, 1.47, 95% confidence interval, 1.29-1.67) compared with women with adequate prenatal care and normal pregnancies. Women residing in rural areas were less likely to receive immediate postpartum long-acting and reversible contraception (adjusted odds ratio, 0.36, 95% confidence interval, 0.30-0.44) than women in metropolitan areas. Utilization of immediate postpartum long-acting and reversible contraception was associated with a decreased odds of a subsequent short interpregnancy interval (adjusted odds ratio, 0.62, 95% confidence interval, 0.44-0.89)., Conclusion: Women at risk of a subsequent pregnancy and complications (inadequate prenatal care and medical comorbidities) are more likely to receive immediate postpartum long-acting and reversible contraception following the policy change. Efforts are needed to improve access in rural areas., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To determine the availability of pharmacist prescribing of hormonal contraception in rural areas of two states., Study Design: Cross-sectional survey., Results: Overall, 42% of pharmacies prescribed contraception (Oregon: 46% and New Mexico 19%). A similar proportion of rural pharmacies reported offering pharmacist prescription of 37 contraception as urban locations (39% vs 46%, p = 0.26). Nearly 53% of rural and 45% of urban pharmacies report billing women, rather than insurance, directly for the cost of the pharmacist consultation. Over 80% of pharmacists in both rural and urban locations did not know if Medicaid covered the cost., Conclusion: Pharmacists in rural areas are as willing as their urban counterparts to prescribe hormonal contraception. Financial barriers remain a concern., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Mexico has implemented comprehensive sexuality education. We hypothesized that young women who received sexuality education as adolescents would be more likely to report modern contraceptive use at first sexual intercourse., Methods: We used a nationally representative survey of Mexican women aged 20-24 years who were asked about experiences during adolescence. We defined our treatment variable in three mutually exclusive groups: comprehensive sexuality education (receipt of education in nine topics); incomplete sexuality education (receipt of at least one topic in each of three themes); or no sexuality education. Our outcome was use of modern contraception at first sexual intercourse. We included individual- and household-level sociodemographic factors. All presented data used survey weights. We used multivariable logistic regression and predicted probabilities to estimate the association between sexuality education and using modern contraception at first intercourse., Results: In our sample (n = 2,725; population N = 4,008,722), 60.6% of participants reported receipt of comprehensive, 15.6% of incomplete, and 23.9% of no sexuality education; 62.5% reported utilizing a modern method of contraception at first intercourse. Women who reported receiving comprehensive (adjusted odds ratio: 2.3, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.7, 3.2) or incomplete (adjusted odds ratio: 2.4, 95% CI: 1.3, 4.2) sexuality education had higher odds of using contraception at first intercourse compared with no sexuality education. The absolute multivariable probabilities of using modern contraception at first intercourse were 57.5% (95% CI: 55.2%-59.8%), 60.4% (95% CI: 56.0%-64.9%), and 37.6% (95% CI: 33.9%-41.3%) among comprehensive, incomplete, and no sexuality education, respectively., Conclusions: Sexuality education is associated with contraception use at first intercourse among young women in Mexico., (Copyright © 2019 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Little consensus exists about how to measure quality of care in abortion. Our purpose is to (a) provide common language for healthcare quality definitions, frameworks and measurement; (b) synthesize literature about quality measurement in abortion; and (c) present criteria for quality metric development. Quality includes effectiveness, patient centeredness, timeliness, efficiency and equity of care. Information about structure, process and outcomes of care is used to measure quality. We do not have good evidence about expected population-level health and behavioral outcomes associated with improving abortion service quality. Abortion patients overwhelmingly report high satisfaction with services, but it is not clear if their satisfaction indicates high-quality care. Guidance exists for quality metric selection; measures must focus on priority topics, be scientifically sound and be feasible. Technical quality standards and clinical guidelines exist, but we lack a standard set of quality metrics. Partners in the Abortion Service Quality Initiative (https://asq-initiative.org/) are collaborating to develop the first-ever global standard for measuring abortion service quality in low- and middle-income countries, both in and out of health care facilities. Standardized and validated quality metrics would move our field forward and contribute to quality improvement activities and, ultimately, to improved health outcomes for women and families. IMPLICATIONS: We define quality of health care, synthesize the evidence about quality of care in abortion and advocate for standardized and validated quality metrics to improve health outcomes for women., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objectives: In the Mexico City Metropolitan Area, only women in the city center have local access to legal first-trimester abortion. We quantify how this legislative discrepancy affects access to legal, public-sector abortion across the metropolitan area., Study Design: In this observational study, we used a dataset representing 67.2% of all abortions occurring between 2010 and 2012 in Mexico City's public abortion program and census population data. We calculate utilization rates for 75 municipalities in the metropolitan area for 2010-2012. We compare utilization between municipalities with and without local legal access, adjusting for differences in sociodemographic drivers of abortion demand. We explore the effects of local abortion legality, travel time and socioeconomic status (SES)., Results: Women who had to travel into the city center for legal abortions used services at only 18.6% (95% CI 13.3%-33.0%) of the expected rate if they had local access, adjusting for sociodemographic factors. After controlling for travel time and SES, women who lived where abortion is illegal had a 58.6% (95% CI 21.5%-78.1%) reduction in access, and each additional 15 min of travel further reduced access by 33.7% (95% CI 18.2%-46.3%). Women who travel to seek legal abortions are more likely to have completed secondary education compared to other reproductive age women in their municipality (p = <.00001)., Conclusions: We find that, in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area, both living where abortion is illegal and having to travel further to access services substantially reduce access to legal, public-sector abortion. These burdens disproportionately affect women of lower SES., Implications: Both local legality and proximate access are key to ensuring equity in access to public-sector abortion. Legalization of abortion services across the greater Mexico City Metropolitan Area has the potential to increase equity in utilization and meet unmet demand for legal abortion., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: No standard exists to measure religiosity in abortion studies. We test whether religiosity is associated with support for abortion among Mexican Catholics and whether different measures of degree of Catholicism alter the relationship., Study Design: We conducted a nationally representative cross-sectional study using survey data from 2669 self-identified Mexican Catholics (response rate 85%). Our three outcomes were 1) overall support for legal abortion and support for abortion under exceptions, grouped as having 2) traditionally high agreement (rape, life) and 3) low agreement (on demand, socioeconomic). We used logistic regression controlling for sociodemographic covariates to test the association of four measures of Catholicism with our outcomes., Results: The majority of Mexican Catholics support abortion in some circumstances. (90% at least one high agreement exception and 40% at least one low agreement exception). The only measure of degree of Catholicism significantly associated with all our outcomes was belief that a person who helps someone who aborts can be a good Catholic. Those who agreed (versus not) had higher odds of support for abortion for both high agreement (aOR 3.6 [95% CI: 1.7-7.9]) and low agreement (aOR 1.9 [95% CI: 1.3-2.7]) exceptions. Respondents who believe a woman who aborts does not need to confess (aOR 2.1 [95% CI: 1.5-2.8]) or needs to confess to God (aOR 1.4 [95% CI: 1.04-1.8]) versus a priest had higher odds of agreement with at least one low agreement exception., Conclusion: Opinion toward abortion among Mexican Catholics is diverse. More nuanced measures of Catholicism are valuable in assessing support for abortion, especially exceptions with low support., Implications: The main reasons women need abortion are precisely those with low support among Mexican Catholics. Focusing on nuanced measures of Catholicism can help us identify areas for shared values and frame messaging to meet the diversity of Catholic opinion. Catholicism is not an unsurmountable barrier to liberalization of abortion law., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Although it is likely that childbearing among women with disabilities is increasing, no empirical data have been published on changes over time in the numbers of women with disabilities giving birth. Further, while it is known that women with disabilities are at increased risk of cesarean delivery, temporal trends in cesarean deliveries among women with disabilities have not been examined., Objective: To assess time trends in births by any mode and in primary cesarean deliveries among women with physical, sensory, or intellectual/developmental disabilities., Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using linked vital records and hospital discharge data from all deliveries in California, 2000-2010 (n = 4,605,061). We identified women with potential disabilities using ICD-9 codes. We used descriptive statistics and visualizations to examine time patterns. Logistic regression analyses assessed the association between disability and primary cesarean delivery, stratified by year., Results: Among all women giving birth, the proportion with a disability increased from 0.27% in 2000 to 0.80% in 2010. Women with disabilities had significantly elevated odds of primary cesarean delivery in each year, but the magnitude of the odds ratio decreased over time from 2.60 (95% CI = 2.25 = 2.99) in 2000 to 1.66 (95% CI = 1.51-1.81) in 2010., Conclusion: Adequate clinician training is needed to address the perinatal care needs of the increasing numbers of women with disabilities giving birth. Continued efforts to understand cesarean delivery patterns and reasons for cesarean deliveries may help guide further reductions in proportions of cesarean deliveries among women with disabilities relative to women without disabilities., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Prior studies have found that women with disabilities who give birth are more likely to have preterm deliveries and low birthweight infants. However, it is not known what proportion of pregnant women with disabilities experience live birth, versus miscarriage or abortion., Objective: To compare proportions of live birth, miscarriage, and abortion among women with basic action difficulties, women with complex activity limitations, and women without disabilities in a nationally representative sample., Methods: We analyzed pooled Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data from Panels 1-11 (covering years 1996-2007), which included a Pregnancy Detail module assessing outcomes for women who were pregnant during panel participation. We used chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression to compare disability groups on pregnancy outcomes., Results: Among women with a recorded pregnancy outcome, women with disabilities were less likely to have live births (80.8% of women with basic action difficulties and 75.3% of women with complex activity limitations versus 85.0% of women without disabilities), but differences related to disability were not significant when adjusting for covariates. Women with complex activity limitations were significantly more likely to report miscarriages, even when controlling for covariates. Disability was not significantly associated with abortion in the adjusted analysis., Conclusions: Our findings add to the growing literature on pregnancy outcomes among women with disabilities, providing important information about outcomes that are not reflected in delivery records. We found few differences between women with and without disabilities, and good likelihood of live birth among women with disabilities experiencing pregnancy., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: A recent publication [Koch E, Chireau M, Pliego F, Stanford J, Haddad S, Calhoun B, Aracena P, Bravo M, Gatica S, Thorp J. Abortion legislation, maternal healthcare, fertility, female literacy, sanitation, violence against women and maternal deaths: a natural experiment in 32 Mexican states. BMJ Open 2015;5(2):e006013] claimed that Mexican states with more restrictive abortion laws had lower levels of maternal mortality. Our objectives are to replicate the analysis, reanalyze the data and offer a critique of the key flaws of the Koch study., Study Design: We used corrected maternal mortality data (2006-2013), live births, and state-level indicators of poverty. We replicate the published analysis. We then reclassified state-level exposure to abortion on demand based on actual availability of abortion (Mexico City versus the other 31 states) and test the association of abortion access and the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) using descriptives over time, pooled chi-square tests and regression models. We included 256 state-year observations., Results: We did not find significant differences in MMR between Mexico City (MMR=49.1) and the 31 states (MMR=44.6; p=.44). Using Koch's classification of states, we replicated published differences of higher MMR where abortion is more available. We found a significant, negative association between MMR and availability of abortion in the same multivariable models as Koch, but using our state classification (beta=-22.49, 95% CI=-38.9; -5.99). State-level poverty remains highly correlated with MMR., Conclusion: Koch makes errors in methodology and interpretation, making false causal claims about abortion law and MMR. MMR is falling most rapidly in Mexico City, but our main study limitation is an inability to draw causal inference about abortion law or access and maternal mortality. We need rigorous evidence about the health impacts of increasing access to safe abortion worldwide., Implications: Transparency and integrity in research is crucial, as well as perhaps even more in politically contested topics such as abortion. Rigorous evidence about the health impacts of increasing access to safe abortion worldwide is needed., (Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To test the association of age (adolescents vs. older women) and place of delivery with receipt of immediate postpartum contraception in Mexico., Study Design: Retrospective cohort study, Mexico, nationally representative sample of women 12-39years old at last delivery. We used multivariable logistic regression to test the association of self-reported receipt of postpartum contraception prior to discharge with age and place of delivery (public, employment based, private, or out of facility). We included individual and household-level confounders and calculated relative and absolute multivariable estimates of association., Results: Our analytic sample included 7022 women (population, N=9,881,470). Twenty percent of the population was 12-19years old at last birth, 55% aged 20-29 and 25% 30-39years old. Overall, 43% of women reported no postpartum contraceptive method. Age was not significantly associated with receipt of a method, controlling for covariates. Women delivering in public facilities had lower odds of receipt of a method (Odds Ratio=0.52; 95% Confidence Interval (CI)=0.40-0.68) compared with employment-based insurance facilities. We estimated 76% (95% CI=74-78%) of adolescents (12-19years) who deliver in employment-based insurance facilities leave with a method compared with 59% (95% CI=56-62%) who deliver in public facilities., Conclusion: Both adolescents and women ages 20-39 receive postpartum contraception, but nearly half of all women receive no method. Place of delivery is correlated with receipt of postpartum contraception, with lower rates in the public sector. Lessons learned from Mexico are relevant to other countries seeking to improve adolescent health through reducing unintended pregnancy., Implications: Adolescents receive postpartum contraception as often as older women in Mexico, but half of all women receive no method., (Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Approximately 12% of women of reproductive age have some type of disability. Very little is known about sexual and reproductive health issues among women with disabilities, including what proportion of women with disabilities experience pregnancy. Data on pregnancy are important to inform needs for preconception and pregnancy care for women with disabilities., Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the occurrence of pregnancy among women with various types of disability and with differing levels of disability complexity, compared with women without disabilities, in a nationally representative sample., Study Design: We conducted cross-sectional analyses of 2008-2012 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey annualized data to estimate the proportion of women aged 18-44 years with and without disabilities who reported a pregnancy during 1 year of participation on the survey panel. We used a multivariable logistic regression to test the association of pregnancy with presence, type, and complexity of disability, controlling for other factors associated with pregnancy., Results: Similar proportions of women with and without disabilities reported a pregnancy (10.8% vs 12.3%, with 95% confidence intervals overlapping). Women with the most complex disabilities (those that impact activities such as self-care and work) were less likely to have been pregnant (adjusted odds ratio, 0.69, 95% confidence interval, 0.52-0.93), but women whose disabilities affected only basic actions (seeing, hearing, movement, cognition) did not differ significantly from women with no disabilities., Conclusion: Women with a variety of types of disabilities experience pregnancy. Greater attention is needed to the reproductive health care needs of this population to ensure appropriate contraceptive, preconception, and perinatal care., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To assess the quality of care provided to adolescents (10-19 years old) compared to women (aged 20-25 years) who accessed services in Oregon's Contraceptive Care (CCare) program., Study Design: We analyzed data routinely collected using the Clinic Visit Record form from women aged 25 years and younger who visited CCare clinics between January 1, 2004, and October 31, 2010. Modern methods were characterized into three tiers: Tier 1 is the intrauterine device, implant and sterilization; Tier 2, hormonal methods; and Tier 3, all barrier methods. Nonmodern methods included no method, withdrawal and natural family planning. We used multivariable logistic regression models to examine the effect of age on three indicators of quality of contraceptive care: transitioning from a nonmodern to a modern method, transitioning from Tier 3 methods to Tier 1 or Tier 2 methods, and initiation of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC). We then produced predicted probabilities to facilitate data interpretation., Results: Adolescents accounted for 344,856 (41%) of the 848,221 clinic visits occurring in CCare among women under age 25. Compared with women (ages 20-25 years), young and older adolescents had decreased odds of LARC initiation [odds ratio (OR) 0.24 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.16-0.35) and OR 0.44 (95% CI 0.38-0.52), respectively]. However, compared with women, both young and older adolescents had increased odds of leaving with any contraceptive method [OR 1.8 95% (CI 1.26-2.59) and OR 1.42 (95% CI 1.21-1.66)]. Among clients presenting with no method of contraception at the beginning of the visit, 78.7% of young adolescents (95% CI 73.84-83.03) compared with 81.44% (95% CI 77.02-85.52) of older adolescents, and 76.63% (95% CI 69.90-80.75) of young women left with a modern method, controlling for other covariates., Conclusion: Although adolescents served by CCare are more likely to initiate contraception, they are less likely to receive LARC than women aged 20-25 years., Implication: Efforts are needed to ensure that adolescents have access to highly effective reversible contraception., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Until 2006, legal induced abortion was completely banned in Colombia. Few facilities are equipped or willing to offer abortion services; often adolescents experience even greater barriers of access in this context. We examined post abortion care (PAC) and legal induced abortion in two large public hospitals. We tested the association of hospital site, procedure type (manual vacuum aspiration vs. sharp curettage), and age (adolescents vs. women 20 years and over) with service type (PAC or legal induced abortion)., Study Design: Retrospective cohort study using 2010 billing data routinely collected for reimbursement (N=1353 procedures). We utilized descriptive statistics, multivariable logistic regression and predicted probabilities., Results: Adolescents made up 22% of the overall sample (300/1353). Manual vacuum aspiration was used in one-third of cases (vs. sharp curettage). Adolescents had lower odds of documented PAC (vs. induced abortion) compared with women over age 20 (OR=0.42; 95% CI=0.21-0.86). The absolute difference of service type by age, however, is very small, controlling for hospital site and procedure type (.97 probability of PAC for adolescents compared with .99 for women 20 and over). Regardless of age, PAC via sharp curettage is the current standard in these two public hospitals., Conclusion: Both adolescents and women over 20 are in need of access to legal abortion services utilizing modern technologies in the public sector in Colombia. Documentation of abortion care is an essential first step to determining barriers to access and opportunities for quality improvement and better health outcomes for women., Implications: Following partial decriminalization of abortion in Colombia, in public hospitals nearly all abortion services are post-abortion care, not induced abortion. Sharp curettage is the dominant treatment for both adolescents and women over 20. Women seek care in the public sector for abortion, and must have access to safe, quality services., (Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Including support staff in practice change initiatives is a promising strategy to successfully implement new reproductive health services. The Resident Training Initiative in Miscarriage Management (RTI-MM) is an intervention designed to facilitate implementation of manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) for management of spontaneous abortion. The purpose of this study was to identify training program components that enhanced interprofessional training and provide lessons learned for engaging support staff in implementing uterine evacuation services., Study Design: We conducted a secondary analysis of qualitative data to identify themes within three broad areas: interprofessional education, the role of support staff, and RTI-MM program components that facilitated support staff engagement in the process of implementing MVA services., Results: We identified three key themes around interprofessional training and the role of support staff: "Training together is rare," "Support staff are crucial to practice change," and "Transparency, peers and champions.", Conclusions: We present lessons learned that may be transferrable to other clinic sites: engage site leadership in a commitment to interprofessional training; engage support staff as teachers and learners and in shared values and building professionalism., Implications: This manuscript adds to what is known about how to employ interprofessional education and training to engage support staff in reproductive health services practice change initiatives. Lessons learned may provide guidance to clinical sites interested in interprofessional training, improving service delivery, or implementing new services., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)