Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39018278›Full record

ArticlePLOS global public health2024

"I always know she cannot betray me." Disclosure of abortion and methods of abortion used in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya.

Ramatou Ouedraogo, Shelmith Wanjiru, Moussa L Zan, Clementine Rossier, Onikepe Owolabi, Sherine Athero, Clement Oduor, Martin Bangha, N-MAS team

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLOS global public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Ramatou OuedraogoAfrican Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3682-4744
Shelmith WanjiruGraduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland.
Moussa L ZanInstitut Supérieur des Sciences de la Population, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4131-1759
Clementine RossierUniversity of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Onikepe OwolabiGuttmacher Institute, New York, New York, United States of America.
Sherine AtheroAfrican Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.
Clement OduorAfrican Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1716-9294
Martin BanghaAfrican Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.
N-MAS team

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Despite abortion being stigmatized and legally restricted in Kenya, women still disclose their abortions within their network. Evidence has shown how stigma can influence and regulate individual abortion disclosure decisions and behaviors. This paper seeks to understand why and how women make the decisions to disclose their abortion and the associated methods used. The data are from a qualitative formative study and a respondent-driven sampling survey conducted between 2020 and 2021 in two informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. The data were analyzed using a descriptive analysis approach for the quantitative data, and thematic analysis for the qualitative data. Our findings reveal that information sharing about abortion is enclosed in a social dynamic of secrecy. This dynamic contributes to making abortion a secret that respondents decided to share with confidants in 81% of the abortion cases. These confidants include intimate relationships such as trusted friends (62%), followed by female relatives. Information was shared in many cases either to get support (i.e. method to use), or because participants had close ties with the confidants. Regarding the methods used, unidentified pills were the most used regardless of the confidant; followed by traditional methods especially among those who sought help with their mothers/aunts/grandmothers (33%), while Medical Abortion and Manual Vacuum Aspiration were rarely used, mostly by those who confided in friends or sisters/cousins. Our findings show that the disclosure of abortion is a complex process embedded in existing codes regarding the circulation of information on sensitive issues and "help" seeking. Our findings show that the need for information on safe abortion and lack of financial resources frequently empowers them to overcome the fear of stigma and disclose their abortion. However, this often resulted in use of unsafe procedures. The findings suggest the need for strengthening the circulation of information on safe methods within communities, using community champions and intermediaries to increase the likelihood of women being directed through safe methods to enhance their use.

Identifiers

PMID39018278
PMCPMC11253939

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.