Abortion services in a high-needs district: a community-based model of care
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Authors
Snook, Simon
Silva, Martha
Issue Date
2013-06
Type
Article
Language
en_US
Keywords
Abortion Services , Community-Based Model of Care
Alternative Title
Abstract
Introduction: In 2009, a high-deprivation district health board in New Zealand set up a community-based abortion clinic in order to provide a local service and to avoid out-of-region referrals. The service offers medical abortions for women with pregnancies of up to 63 days' gestation, and surgical abortion with local anaesthetic for women with pregnancies of up to 14 weeks' gestation.
Aim: To describe the services developed and assess safety and timeliness for the first year of community-based services.
Methods: An audit of clinical records for patients seen in 2010 was performed in order to obtain data on location of services, timeliness, safety and complications.
Results: Eighty-two percent of locally provided abortions in 2010 were medical abortions, completed on average less than two days after referral to the service. One percent of patients experienced haemorrhaging post abortion, and 4% had retained products. These rates are within accepted standards for an abortion service.
Discussion: This report illustrates that a community-based model of care can be both clinically and culturally safe, while providing a much-needed service to a high-needs population.
Description
Citation
Snook, S., & Silva, M. (2013). Abortion services in a high-needs district: a community-based model of care. Journal of primary health care, 5(2), 151–153.
Publisher
Journal of Primary Health Care