Abstract
Objective
We assess the feasibility of measuring awareness and use of medical abortion via a
mobile phone survey on social attitudes in India.
Study design
In 2018, we conducted a mobile phone survey with 3455 married men and women in Bihar
and Maharashtra, two of India’s most populous states. As part of a broader survey
on social inequality, welfare programs, and health, we asked respondents about their
awareness of medical abortion and whether they (or their wife) had ever had a medical
abortion.
Results
Among men and women in Bihar and Maharashtra, one fifth to one third of respondents
said that they had heard of medical abortion. In Bihar, men were more likely than
women to report having heard of pills that can be used to end a pregnancy. Awareness
of medical abortion was positively associated with education and with women’s status
within the household. Consistent with results from representative face-to-face surveys,
reported use of abortion medications was low.
Conclusion
Our findings demonstrate that respondents are willing to answer abortion-related questions
via mobile phone survey and reveal differences in reported awareness of medical abortion
according to region, sex, education, and household status.
Implications
Inclusion of abortion-related questions in a large-scale, social attitudes phone survey
is a feasible option for assessing public awareness of medical abortion in India.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 28, 2019
Accepted:
August 19,
2019
Received in revised form:
August 15,
2019
Received:
December 24,
2018
Footnotes
☆Declarations of interest: none.
☆☆Funding: Data collection was supported by a grant # OPP1125318 to r.i.c.e. Research was supported by two grants [P2CHD042849, Population Research Center; T32HD007081, Training Program in Population Studies] awarded to the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Research was supported also by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [Grant T32HD007275]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
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