Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39849511›Full record

ArticleBMC women's health2025

Abortion and contraception within prison health care: a qualitative study.

Martha J Paynter, Clare Heggie, Anja Mcleod, Wendy V Norman

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC women's health, 2025. 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. 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

4 authors.

Martha J PaynterFaculty of Nursing, University of New Brunswick Faculty of Nursing, PO Box 4400, 33 Dineen Drive, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3, Canada. martha.paynter@unb.ca.
Clare HeggieDepartment of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada.
Anja McleodDepartment of Sociology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Wendy V NormanUniversity of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlthough abortion was completely decriminalized in Canada 36 years ago, barriers to pregnancy prevention and termination persist across the country, such as travel and information gaps. Research demonstrates incarcerated people face barriers to family planning care, yet there is no systematic data collection of sexual and reproductive health experiences and outcomes among incarcerated people in Canada. The aim of this study was to explore family planning care experiences among women and gender diverse people who have experienced incarceration in Canada.

methodsWe conducted a qualitative community-based research study using focus groups for data collection and reflexive thematic analysis to generate key themes. Our study team included members with lived experience of incarceration. We conducted recruitment in partnership with community organizations. We asked about accessing abortion and contraception while incarcerated and on release.

resultsWe conducted six focus groups with 35 recently incarcerated participants. Five themes emerged: (1) Competing health needs; (2) Institutional barriers to care; (3) Mistreatment and unethical care; (4) Health knowledge gaps; and (5) Challenges to care-seeking in community.

conclusionPeople in prison experience concurrent unmet health needs that crowd out sexual and reproductive health. Prison procedures and perceived unethical professional behaviours impinge care-seeking. Information about abortion and contraception is not readily available in prison. Barriers to care persist upon release. Family planning professionals may improve care for people who experience incarceration by recognizing concurrent mental health needs; anticipating impact of prior negative experiences on care-seeking; challenging limitations to health education in prison; and addressing post-release challenges for patients.

Indexed as

Abortion, InducedContraceptionFamily Planning ServicesHealth Services AccessibilityPrisonersPrisonsAdultCanadaFemaleFocus GroupsHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHumansMaleMiddle AgedPregnancyQualitative ResearchAbortionContraceptionPrisoner health

Identifiers

PMID39849511
PMCPMC11755924

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.