Rosa Mackay, Rachel Scott, Maria Lewandowska, Rebecca Meiksin, Natasha Salaria, Patricia A Lohr, Sharon Cameron, Melissa Palmer, Rebecca S French, Kaye Wellings
{"title":"\"I'm Pregnant, What Do I Do?\": Exploring How People Having Abortions in Britain Find and Use Online Sources of Information.","authors":"Rosa Mackay, Rachel Scott, Maria Lewandowska, Rebecca Meiksin, Natasha Salaria, Patricia A Lohr, Sharon Cameron, Melissa Palmer, Rebecca S French, Kaye Wellings","doi":"10.1111/psrh.70016","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Accurate, timely, and supportive information is important for high-quality abortion care. Limited research explores how people find and use online sources of information (OSI) during the abortion process, particularly in Britain. Understanding experiences of using OSI is important for the development of person-centered services and resources.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a thematic analysis of qualitative data from 41 semi-structured interviews carried out in 2021/2022 with people who had recent experience of abortion in Britain.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Using OSI was common amongst participants. Our analysis generated four distinct motivations for doing so. People used OSI to find information about accessing abortion services. OSI was also used to demystify abortion, as many participants did not understand what the process involved or know what to expect. Connection and solidarity were sought through OSI, and some participants felt supported by the content they found, particularly through the accounts of others. Finally, people used OSI to explore their relationship with their pregnancy during the abortion process. Using OSI brought benefits-including finding non-judgmental and supportive resources-and challenges, including struggling to find relevant information or encountering negative stories and anti-abortion views. Nonetheless, participants appreciated OSI and expressed a desire for more real-life stories and online spaces where they could connect with others.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>People having abortions want and need different things from the online resources they consult. However, OSI have the potential to provide valuable information, connection, and a place for exploration around the topic of abortion. Future work should explore how OSI can meet these different needs, guided by the motivations of users.</p>","PeriodicalId":47632,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/psrh.70016","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"DEMOGRAPHY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Accurate, timely, and supportive information is important for high-quality abortion care. Limited research explores how people find and use online sources of information (OSI) during the abortion process, particularly in Britain. Understanding experiences of using OSI is important for the development of person-centered services and resources.
Methods: We conducted a thematic analysis of qualitative data from 41 semi-structured interviews carried out in 2021/2022 with people who had recent experience of abortion in Britain.
Results: Using OSI was common amongst participants. Our analysis generated four distinct motivations for doing so. People used OSI to find information about accessing abortion services. OSI was also used to demystify abortion, as many participants did not understand what the process involved or know what to expect. Connection and solidarity were sought through OSI, and some participants felt supported by the content they found, particularly through the accounts of others. Finally, people used OSI to explore their relationship with their pregnancy during the abortion process. Using OSI brought benefits-including finding non-judgmental and supportive resources-and challenges, including struggling to find relevant information or encountering negative stories and anti-abortion views. Nonetheless, participants appreciated OSI and expressed a desire for more real-life stories and online spaces where they could connect with others.
Conclusions: People having abortions want and need different things from the online resources they consult. However, OSI have the potential to provide valuable information, connection, and a place for exploration around the topic of abortion. Future work should explore how OSI can meet these different needs, guided by the motivations of users.
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.
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