ABORTION
Medical termination of pregnancy (MTOP) involves the use of approved medications to terminate a pregnancy of up to 9 weeks gestation. Although the government has taken steps to increase availability of this method to women in need, there is still poor uptake in primary care.
Currently, only 703 out of 34,000 practising GPs are certified to deliver MTOP. It is also unclear how many of these GPs are actually delivering this service.
Barriers to provision of MTOP in general practice include a sense of stigma and isolation amongst GPs who feel they need better peer support and referral pathways to confidently provide this service.
SPHERE is developing strategies to overcome these barriers and improve the quality of care, availability, and accessability of medical terminations for women. This work will integrate perspectives from primary care providers, stakeholders, and women themselves. Our focus is on new approaches that are cost-effective and community-based, with the aim of building the skill and confidence amongst service providers who can then deliver high quality, safe, and equitable medical termination services to all Australian women.
The Australian Contraception and Abortion Primary Care Practitioner Support (AusCAPPS) Network
PUBLICATIONS
Factors associated with induced abortion over time: secondary data analysis of five waves of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health
Angela J. Taft, Rhonda L. Powell, Lyndsey F. Watson, Jayne C. Lucke, Danielle Mazza, Kathleen McNamee