Grant: Project Grant

Abortion is experienced by a third of all females in Canada. Abortion can be obtained either medically (with medications) or surgically. However, a 2012 study, done by members of our team, showed that medical abortion, the preferred option for first trimester abortion globally, was almost non-existent in Canada. Other challenges to access included too few providers, who mostly worked in cities, provided surgical abortion, and who were all physicians, due to regulations set by their professional colleges. Since the 2012 study, there have been several changes to Canadian regulations that may have affected our understanding of abortion access and have increased the number of providers. Most notably, the international gold standard medication for medical abortion, mifepristone, finally became available in Canada, and nurse practitioners can now be abortion providers. Additionally, new clinical guidelines were published to improve quality of care. We now propose a national survey of medical and surgical abortion providers throughout Canada to: 1.Document the change in characteristics and distribution of the abortion care workforce since the 2012 Canadian Abortion Provider Survey; 2.Assess the quality of care, i.e., characteristics of actual abortion practices as compared to the revised Canadian clinical practice guidelines, in both MA and SA practices and 3.Determine to what extent providers experience harassment and stigma in their work and explore their related resilience and retention. This information can then be used to improve access to high quality abortion care and related policies.