Attitudes towards the regulation and provision of abortion among healthcare professionals in Britain: cross-sectional survey data from the SACHA Study.

Wellings, K; Scott, RH; Sheldon, S; McCarthy, O; Palmer, MJ; Shawe, J; Meiksin, R; Lewandowska, M; Cameron, ST; Reiter, J; French, RS; SACHA Study Team,; SACHA study team,

Attitudes towards the regulation and provision of abortion among healthcare professionals in Britain: cross-sectional survey data from the SACHA Study.

Wellings, K Scott, RH Sheldon, S

McCarthy, O Palmer, MJ Shawe, J Meiksin, R Lewandowska, M Cameron, ST Reiter, J French, RS SACHA Study Team, SACHA study team,

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Publisher:: BMJ
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: BMJ Sex Reprod Health, 2024, pp. bmjsrh-2024-202353
Issue Date:: 2024-11-05

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Wellings, K
dc.contributor.author	Scott, RH
dc.contributor.author	Sheldon, S https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5472-9655
dc.contributor.author	McCarthy, O
dc.contributor.author	Palmer, MJ
dc.contributor.author	Shawe, J
dc.contributor.author	Meiksin, R
dc.contributor.author	Lewandowska, M
dc.contributor.author	Cameron, ST
dc.contributor.author	Reiter, J
dc.contributor.author	French, RS
dc.contributor.author	SACHA Study Team,
dc.contributor.author	SACHA study team,
dc.date.accessioned	2024-11-22T03:21:47Z
dc.date.available	2024-08-13
dc.date.available	2024-11-22T03:21:47Z
dc.date.issued	2024-11-05
dc.identifier.citation	BMJ Sex Reprod Health, 2024, pp. bmjsrh-2024-202353
dc.identifier.issn	2515-1991
dc.identifier.issn	2515-2009
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/182065
dc.description.abstract	OBJECTIVES: To gather views of healthcare professionals on the regulation and provision of abortion in Britain. METHODS: Cross-sectional, stratified cluster sample survey of healthcare professionals working in a range of healthcare services including abortion services. Measures included knowledge of and attitudes towards the regulation and provision of abortion. RESULTS: A total of 771 healthcare professionals responded. More than nine in ten supported abortion being a woman's choice and a clear majority favoured abortion being treated as a health rather than a legal issue. Some 6.2% saw abortion at any gestational age as contrary to personal beliefs and a similarly small minority (6.7%) opposed abortion after 12 weeks' gestation. One in five of all healthcare professionals and a third of those aged under 30 years were unaware that the law in Britain requires two doctors to authorise an abortion. Free-text comments revealed opposition to the need for this legal requirement. Support for an extended role for nurses in abortion care was high; 65.3% agreed that nurses should be able to prescribe abortion medication. Little more than a third of all healthcare professionals (37.0%) agreed that abortion should be standard practice in their service; the proportion was highest among those in sexual and reproductive health services (58.4%) and lowest among those in general practice (18.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare professionals in Britain were generally supportive of abortion being treated in the same way as other health issues and would be likely to support any moves to decriminalise abortion.
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	BMJ
dc.relation.ispartof	BMJ Sex Reprod Health
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1136/bmjsrh-2024-202353
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject.classification	3215 Reproductive medicine
dc.subject.classification	4206 Public health
dc.title	Attitudes towards the regulation and provision of abortion among healthcare professionals in Britain: cross-sectional survey data from the SACHA Study.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.location.activity	England
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Law
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2024-11-22T03:21:45Z
pubs.publication-status	Published online

Abstract:

OBJECTIVES: To gather views of healthcare professionals on the regulation and provision of abortion in Britain. METHODS: Cross-sectional, stratified cluster sample survey of healthcare professionals working in a range of healthcare services including abortion services. Measures included knowledge of and attitudes towards the regulation and provision of abortion. RESULTS: A total of 771 healthcare professionals responded. More than nine in ten supported abortion being a woman's choice and a clear majority favoured abortion being treated as a health rather than a legal issue. Some 6.2% saw abortion at any gestational age as contrary to personal beliefs and a similarly small minority (6.7%) opposed abortion after 12 weeks' gestation. One in five of all healthcare professionals and a third of those aged under 30 years were unaware that the law in Britain requires two doctors to authorise an abortion. Free-text comments revealed opposition to the need for this legal requirement. Support for an extended role for nurses in abortion care was high; 65.3% agreed that nurses should be able to prescribe abortion medication. Little more than a third of all healthcare professionals (37.0%) agreed that abortion should be standard practice in their service; the proportion was highest among those in sexual and reproductive health services (58.4%) and lowest among those in general practice (18.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare professionals in Britain were generally supportive of abortion being treated in the same way as other health issues and would be likely to support any moves to decriminalise abortion.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/182065