Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39122445›Full record

ReviewBMJ global health2024

Measuring availability of and facility readiness to deliver comprehensive abortion care: experiences and lessons learnt from integrating abortion into WHO's health facility assessments.

Heidi Bart Johnston, Katy Footman, Mohamed Mahmoud Ali, Eman Abdelkreem Aly, Chilanga Asmani, Sofonias Getachew Asrat, Dominic Kwabena Atweam, Sayema Awais, Richard Mangwi Ayiasi, Martin Owusu Boamah and 27 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in BMJ global health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Strengthening health system capacity for legal termination of pregnancy in Burkina Faso: A quasi-experimental evaluation in public health facilities.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2026
    Article
  2. 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

37 authors.

Heidi Bart JohnstonUNDP-UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP), Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland johnstonh@who.int.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7693-4892
Katy FootmanUNDP-UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP), Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8606-7326
Mohamed Mahmoud AliUNDP-UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP), Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Eman Abdelkreem AlyWorld Health Organisation Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt.
Chilanga Asmaniformerly, World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.
Sofonias Getachew AsratGhana, World Health Organization, Accra, Ghana.
Dominic Kwabena AtweamGhana, World Health Organization, Accra, Ghana.
Sayema AwaisPakistan Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Richard Mangwi AyiasiPublic Health, Muni University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Arua, Uganda.
Martin Owusu BoamahGhana, World Health Organization, Accra, Ghana.
Ovost ChooyeZambia Ministry of Health, Lusaka, Zambia.
Roseline DoeGhana, World Health Organization, Accra, Ghana.
Benson DrotiWorld Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0581-1542
Hayfa ElaminWorld Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.
Chris FofieFamily Health Division, Ghana Health Service, Accra, Ghana.
Karima GholbzouriWorld Health Organisation Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt.
Azmach HadushZambia, World Health Organization, Lusaka, Zambia.
Nilmini HemachandraMyanmar, World Health Organization, Yangon, Myanmar.
Yelmali HienBurkina Faso, World Health Organization, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Francis Chisaka KasoloGhana, World Health Organization, Accra, Ghana.
Hillary KiprutoWorld Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3879-1712
Yolanda Barbera LainezInternational Health Consultant, Panama City, Panama.
Nasan NatseriUganda, World Health Organization, Kampala, Uganda.
Pamela Amaka OnyiahWorld Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.
Christopher Garimoi OrachMakerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.
Assane OuangareDirectorate of Statistics, Ministry of Health Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Leopold OuedraogoWorld Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.
Olive Sentumbwe-MugisaUganda, World Health Organization, Kampala, Uganda.
Ashley SheffelDepartment of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6561-7085
Amani SiyamWorld Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia, New Delhi, New Delhi, India.
Martin SsendyonaDepartment for Standards Accreditation and Patient Protection, Republic of Uganda Ministry of Health, Kampala, Uganda.
Ellen ThomPakistan, World Health Organization, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Rose Koirine TingueriBurkina Faso, World Health Organization, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Soumaïla TraoréDirectorate of Statistics, Ministry of Health Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Qudsia UzmaPakistan, World Health Organization, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Wendy VenterData and Analytics, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Bela GanatraUNDP-UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP), Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4812-4577

Funding

World Health Organization 001
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Routine assessment of health facility capacity to provide abortion and post-abortion care can inform policy and programmes to expand access and improve quality. Since 2018, abortion and/or post-abortion care have been integrated into two WHO health facility assessment tools: the Service Availability and Readiness Assessment and the Harmonised Health Facility Assessment. We discuss lessons learnt through experiences integrating abortion into these standardised tools. Our experiences highlight the feasibility of including abortion in health facility assessments across a range of legal contexts. Factors facilitating the integration of abortion include cross-country collaboration and experience sharing, timely inputs into tool adaptations, clear leadership, close relationships among key stakeholders as in assessment coordination groups, use of locally appropriate terminology to refer to abortion and reference to national policies and guidelines. To facilitate high-quality data collection, we identify considerations around question sequencing in tool design, appropriate terminology and the need to balance the normalisation of abortion with adequate sensitisation and education of data collectors. To facilitate appropriate and consistent analysis, future work must ensure adequate disaggregation of recommended and non-recommended abortion methods, alignment with national guidelines and development of a standardised approach for measuring abortion service readiness. Measurement of abortion service availability and readiness should be a routine practice and a standardised component of health facility assessment tools. Evidence generated by health facility assessments that include abortion monitoring can guide efforts to expand access to timely and effective care and help normalise abortion as a core component of sexual and reproductive healthcare.

Indexed as

Abortion, InducedHealth Services AccessibilityWorld Health OrganizationFemaleHealth FacilitiesHumansPregnancyGlobal HealthHealth systemsHealth systems evaluationMaternal healthPublic Health

Identifiers

PMID39122445
PMCPMC11344866

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.