Medication abortion for adolescents in the United States: Strengthening the role of pediatric primary care providers.

IF 3.4 2区医学 Q1 DEMOGRAPHY

Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health Pub Date : 2024-04-25 DOI:10.1111/psrh.12264

A. Starosta, Julen Harris, Aileen Gariepy, Shefali Pathy, Julia Cron

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

BACKGROUND Recent legal changes have led to mounting abortion restrictions in the United States (US), disproportionately impacting adolescents, who already face multifaceted barriers to abortion care. Informed by the framework of reproductive justice, adolescents who become pregnant deserve comprehensive, unbiased, and non-judgmental pregnancy options counseling, inclusive of all choices for pregnancy continuation and termination. Pediatric primary care providers are at the front lines of caring for adolescent patients' reproductive health needs and frequently diagnose pregnancy, provide pregnancy options counseling, and assist patients in accessing abortion care. They are uniquely poised to provide this care given their trusted, ongoing relationships with adolescent patients and their families, and their values of deep respect for adolescents' individuality and autonomy. METHODS In this commentary, we aim to describe the medical and legal landscape of adolescent abortion access in the US and provide recommendations to support pediatric primary care providers' involvement in abortion care. We focus on medication abortion, as the provision of medication abortion has the potential to encompass a broad group of clinicians, including pediatric primary care providers. RESULTS We discuss the importance of providing options counseling to adolescents within the reproductive justice framework, improving abortion education for pediatric providers, and expanding access to abortion care by supporting providers at an institutional level if they opt to provide medication abortions. CONCLUSION In light of the current legal landscape, the role of pediatric primary care providers in ensuring adolescent access to abortion care is ever more critical. Although many pediatric and adolescent providers already provide this important care, we, a team of obstetricians/gynecologists and adolescent medicine physicians, echo prior calls for improved training and institutional support for pediatric providers to counsel about and provide abortion-related care. We hope that highlighting the role of pediatric providers in this sphere will help center the needs of adolescent patients and help them fulfill their family planning goals.

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美国青少年药物流产：加强儿科初级保健提供者的作用。

背景最近的法律变化导致美国对堕胎的限制越来越多，对青少年的影响尤为严重，他们在堕胎护理方面已经面临着多方面的障碍。在生殖正义的框架下，怀孕的青少年应该得到全面、公正、不带偏见的妊娠选择咨询，包括继续妊娠和终止妊娠的所有选择。儿科初级保健服务提供者处于照顾青少年患者生殖健康需求的第一线，经常诊断是否怀孕，提供怀孕选择咨询，并协助患者获得人工流产护理。鉴于他们与青少年患者及其家人之间的信任和持续关系，以及他们深深尊重青少年个性和自主权的价值观，他们在提供此类护理方面具有得天独厚的优势。方法在这篇评论中，我们旨在描述美国青少年人工流产的医疗和法律状况，并提出支持儿科初级保健提供者参与人工流产护理的建议。结果我们讨论了在生殖正义框架内为青少年提供选择咨询的重要性，改善了儿科医疗服务提供者的人工流产教育，并通过在机构层面支持医疗服务提供者（如果他们选择提供药物流产）来扩大人工流产护理的可及性。尽管许多儿科和青少年医疗服务提供者已经提供了这一重要的医疗服务，但我们，一个由妇产科医生和青少年医学医生组成的团队，仍响应之前的呼吁，要求加强对儿科医疗服务提供者的培训和机构支持，以提供人工流产相关的咨询和医疗服务。我们希望，强调儿科医疗服务提供者在这一领域的作用将有助于以青少年患者的需求为中心，帮助他们实现计划生育目标。

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来源期刊

Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health Multiple-

CiteScore

5.10

自引率

3.40%

发文量

期刊介绍： Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health provides the latest peer-reviewed, policy-relevant research and analysis on sexual and reproductive health and rights in the United States and other developed countries. For more than four decades, Perspectives has offered unique insights into how reproductive health issues relate to one another; how they are affected by policies and programs; and their implications for individuals and societies. Published four times a year, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health includes original research, special reports and commentaries on the latest developments in the field of sexual and reproductive health, as well as staff-written summaries of recent findings in the field.