Patient Attitudes Toward Early Abortion Services in the Family Medicine Clinic

Abstract

To examine urban, inner-city female patients' acceptability of the provision of early abortion services by their family physician in the family medicine clinic (FMC). We administered a survey with open- and closed-ended questions to a convenience sample of English- or Spanish-speaking female patients aged 18 to 45 recruited from a FMC in the Bronx, New York. Responses were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods. One hundred forty-eight women completed the survey. The majority of respondents stated the FMC should offer abortion services. Seventy percent agreed their clinic should provide medication abortion, and 47% agreed their clinic should provide suction abortion. Of those who would personally consider an abortion, 73% responded that they would prefer to have it done by their family physician in the FMC, whereas 22% would prefer it at a freestanding, high-volume abortion clinic, and 5% had no preference. The majority of patients surveyed accepted the integration of abortion services into our FMC setting, and would choose to have an early abortion at their FMC. Increasing options for abortion provision within our FMC was acceptable to the majority of our sample.