Document Type
Curriculum Material
Submission Date
2025
Abstract
Introduction: As the changing political climate makes abortion access and training more variable, formal education on abortion increases in importance. We implemented an educational session on abortion during the 3rd-year Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinical Clerkship at our institution. This project aimed to assess the impact of this session on the knowledge, comfort, and attitudes of medical students regarding abortion care.
Methods: Participants included an intervention group (n=86) who received the education and a comparison group (n=123) who did not. The session covered early pregnancy counseling, medical and surgical termination, and complications. Both groups completed a baseline survey. The intervention group completed the same survey again 6-12 weeks following the educational intervention.
Results: 100% of students in the intervention group indicated that abortion education is important, compared to 89.5% in the control group. Comfort discussing abortion care with friends and family increased significantly between the pre- and post-intervention surveys (p=0.005), as did knowledge about medication abortion (p=0.0027). Performance was higher for knowledge of D&C, age of viability, and morbidity but lower on the timeline for medication abortion and the use of D&E.
Conclusion/Implications: Ensuring medical students receive comprehensive abortion education is crucial in the post-Roe landscape. This study highlights the importance of providing abortion education for medical students and provides data to support future training. Educational development is imperative, particularly in states where abortion is not legally limited, to foster accurate knowledge and scaffold future medical practice and family planning counseling across specialties and locations.
Recommended Citation
Donovan, Hannah; Connor, Julie; and Morris, Erin, "Advancing Abortion Education for Widespread Health Impact" (2025). Larner College of Medicine Fourth Year Advanced Integration Teaching/Scholarly Projects. 42.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/m4sp/42
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Included in
Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Obstetrics and Gynecology Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Women's Health Commons
