Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39414352›Full record

ArticleBMJ sexual & reproductive health2025

Nurse practitioner medication abortion providers in Canada: results from a national survey.

Emma Stirling-Cameron, Andrea Carson, Abdul-Fatawu Abdulai, Ruth Martin-Misener, Regina Renner, Madeleine Ennis, Wendy V Norman

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ sexual & reproductive health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing 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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. 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

7 authors.

Emma Stirling-CameronSchool of Population and Public Health, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9388-2556
Andrea CarsonSchool of Nursing, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4223-9418
Abdul-Fatawu AbdulaiSchool of Nursing, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9395-8642
Ruth Martin-MisenerSchool of Nursing, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4554-7635
Regina RennerDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7988-0877
Madeleine EnnisDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1263-2676
Wendy V NormanDepartment of Family Practice, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada wendy.norman@ubc.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4340-7882

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn 2017, nurse practitioners (NPs) became the first non-physician healthcare providers authorised to independently provide medication abortion (MA) in Canada. We aimed to report on demographic and clinical characteristics of NPs providing mifepristone/misoprostol MA in Canada and to identify context-specific barriers and enablers to NP provision of mifepristone/misoprostol MA in Canada among MA providers and non-providers.

methodsFrom August 2020 to February 2021, we invited Canadian NPs to complete a national, web-based, bilingual (English/French) survey. The survey was distributed through national and provincial nursing associations and national abortion health professional organisations. We collected demographic and clinical care characteristics and present descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses to compare the experiences of NP providers and non-providers of MA.

resultsThe 181 respondents represented all Canadian provinces and territories. Sixty-five NPs (36%) had provided MA at the time of the survey and 116 (64%) had not. Nearly half (47%) of respondents worked in rural or remote communities and 81% in primary care clinics. Significant barriers impacting non-providers' abilities to provide MA included limited proximity to a pharmacy that dispensed mifepristone/misoprostol, few experienced abortion providers in their community of practice, poor access to procedural abortion services, policy restrictions in NPs' places of employment, and no access to clinical mentorship. Some 98% of NPs providing MA services had never encountered anti-choice protest activity.

conclusionsNPs appear prepared and able to provide MA, yet barriers remain, particularly for NPs in smaller, lower-resourced communities. Our findings inform the development of supports for NPs in this new practice to improve abortion access in Canada.

Indexed as

Abortion, InducedNurse PractitionersAdultCanadaFemaleHealth Services AccessibilityHumansMaleMiddle AgedMifepristoneMisoprostolPregnancySurveys and QuestionnairesMifepristoneMisoprostolAbortion, Therapeuticfamily planning servicesHealth PolicyHealth Services ResearchReproductive Health Servicessurveys and questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID39414352
PMCPMC12013590

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.