{"title":"The Prevalence of Induced Abortion and Its Causes in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Study","authors":"Maedeh Sharafoddin, Azam Bazrafshan, Maryam Azimzadeh, Neda Malek Mohammadi, Maryam Chegeni, Leili Abedi Gheshlaghi, Ali Reza Moghadami, Shirin Nasri, Nahid Bagheri, Mahdiyeh Hassanzadeh, Mahdiyeh Afrashteh","doi":"10.1002/hpm.70047","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div>\n \n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Introduction</h3>\n \n <p>Abortion is one of the major public health problems among women during pregnancy and is regarded as the third cause of death in many societies such as Iran. To this end, this systematic review aimed to estimate the prevalence of induced abortion and its causes in Iran.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Methods</h3>\n \n <p>PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and national Persian databases such as SID, Magiran, and Elmnet were searched from inception to March 11, 2023. In addition, the relevant conference abstracts in Elmnet, Scopus, and Embase were searched. The pooled prevalence of abortions (induced, spontaneous, and therapeutic) and related factors were calculated at a 95% confidence interval.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Results</h3>\n \n <p>Of 310 papers retrieved from seven electronic databases, 34 were included in the quantitative synthesis (meta-analysis). The pooled prevalence of abortion 18.1% (95% CI: 14.5%–21.7%). The prevalence of induced abortion was 27.4% in the central areas of Iran. A short preceding birth interval, economic hardship situation, adequate number of previous alive children, low level of education, academic education, younger parents, maternal occupation, older age (> 35), and low knowledge about contraceptive use were the most frequent reasons for induced abortion.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Conclusion</h3>\n \n <p>The prevalence of induced abortion was 18%, showing a high rate for a religious country. Thus, policies and programs to reduce unwanted pregnancies should focus on increasing women's knowledge and access to suitable contraceptives, especially for women with a low socio-economic status.</p>\n </section>\n </div>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"41 2","pages":"382-396"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5000,"publicationDate":"2026-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hpm.70047","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/12/5 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"HEALTH POLICY & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction
Abortion is one of the major public health problems among women during pregnancy and is regarded as the third cause of death in many societies such as Iran. To this end, this systematic review aimed to estimate the prevalence of induced abortion and its causes in Iran.
Methods
PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and national Persian databases such as SID, Magiran, and Elmnet were searched from inception to March 11, 2023. In addition, the relevant conference abstracts in Elmnet, Scopus, and Embase were searched. The pooled prevalence of abortions (induced, spontaneous, and therapeutic) and related factors were calculated at a 95% confidence interval.
Results
Of 310 papers retrieved from seven electronic databases, 34 were included in the quantitative synthesis (meta-analysis). The pooled prevalence of abortion 18.1% (95% CI: 14.5%–21.7%). The prevalence of induced abortion was 27.4% in the central areas of Iran. A short preceding birth interval, economic hardship situation, adequate number of previous alive children, low level of education, academic education, younger parents, maternal occupation, older age (> 35), and low knowledge about contraceptive use were the most frequent reasons for induced abortion.
Conclusion
The prevalence of induced abortion was 18%, showing a high rate for a religious country. Thus, policies and programs to reduce unwanted pregnancies should focus on increasing women's knowledge and access to suitable contraceptives, especially for women with a low socio-economic status.
期刊介绍:
Policy making and implementation, planning and management are widely recognized as central to effective health systems and services and to better health. Globalization, and the economic circumstances facing groups of countries worldwide, meanwhile present a great challenge for health planning and management. The aim of this quarterly journal is to offer a forum for publications which direct attention to major issues in health policy, planning and management. The intention is to maintain a balance between theory and practice, from a variety of disciplines, fields and perspectives. The Journal is explicitly international and multidisciplinary in scope and appeal: articles about policy, planning and management in countries at various stages of political, social, cultural and economic development are welcomed, as are those directed at the different levels (national, regional, local) of the health sector. Manuscripts are invited from a spectrum of different disciplines e.g., (the social sciences, management and medicine) as long as they advance our knowledge and understanding of the health sector. The Journal is therefore global, and eclectic.