ArticleReproductive health2021
Understanding abortion seeking care outside of formal health care settings in Cape Town, South Africa: a qualitative study.
Article in Reproductive health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Assessing Teenage Girls' Awareness of the Health Risks of Illegal Abortion: A Case Study Protocol in Lusikisiki.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- The Non-Legal Barriers Experienced Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Selected Districts of Rwanda Seeking Safe Abortion Services.International journal of women's health · 2026Article
- "I Was Confident From the Bottom of My Heart That I Will be Fine With These Medicines": Qualitative Analysis of Decision-Making Around Self-Managed Abortion Trajectories in India.Studies in family planning · 2025Article
- Implementing telemedicine for medical abortion within the public health system: a qualitative study on implementation bottlenecks and solutions in South Africa.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Factors influencing abortion care-seeking outside of formal healthcare settings: lived experiences from Rwandan young women.BMC women's health · 2024Article
- [Women's rescuers network: Community support for self-managed abortion in Argentina].Salud colectiva · 2024Article
- Perspectives about social support among unmarried pregnant university students in South Africa.PloS one · 2023Article
- Incidence of and Experiences with Abortion Attempts in Soweto, South Africa: Respondent-Driven Sampling Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2022Article
- Abortion decision-making process trajectories and determinants in low- and middle-income countries: A mixed-methods systematic review and meta-analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlthough abortion was legalized in South Africa in 1996, barriers to safe, legal abortion services remain, and women continue to seek abortions outside of the formal healthcare sector. This study explored the decision-making processes that women undertake when faced with an unintended pregnancy, the sources of information used to make their decisions and the factors that contribute to their seeking of informal sector abortion in Cape Town, South Africa.
methodsWe conducted 15 semi-structured in-depth interviews in English with women who had accessed an abortion outside of the formal health care sector. Women were recruited with the assistance of a community-based key informant. Data was analyzed using a thematic analysis approach.
resultsParticipants were aware that abortions were legal and accessible in public clinics, however they were concerned that others would find out about their unintended pregnancy and abortion if they went to legal providers. Women were also concerned about judgment and mistreatment from providers during their care. Rather than seek care in the formal sector, women looked past concerns around the safety and effectiveness of informal sector abortions and often relied on their social networks for referrals to informal providers.
conclusionsThe findings highlight the decision-making processes employed by women when seeking abortion services in a setting where abortion is legal and demonstrate the role of institutional and societal barriers to safe abortion access. Abortion service delivery models should adapt to women's needs to enhance the preferences and priorities of those seeking abortion care-including those who prefer facility-based care as well as those who might prefer self-managed medical abortions.
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