Medical abortion and manual vacuum aspiration for legal abortion protect women's health and reduce costs to the health system
Findings from Colombia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3972635 |
|---|---|
| Authors | María Isabel Rodríguez (0000-0002-3127-2581, Oregon Health & Science University), Willis Simancas Mendoza (Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (Israel)), Camilo Guerra-Palacio (Municipality of Medellín), Nelson Alvis Guzman, Nelson Alvis-Guzman (0000-0001-9458-864X, University of Cartagena), Jorge E Tolosa (0000-0002-9932-8908, Oregon Health & Science University) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | sup44 |
| Pages | 125-135 |
| Publication date | 2014-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Reproductive Health Matters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0968-8080 • E-ISSN: 1460-9576 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1016/s0968-8080(14)43788-1 |
| PMID | 25702076 |
| OpenAlex | W2092623563 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 13 |
The majority of abortions in Colombia continue to take place outside the formal health system under a range of conditions, with the majority of women obtaining misoprostol from a thriving black market for the drug and self-administering the medication. We conducted a cost analysis to compare the costs to the health system of three approaches to the provision of abortion care in Colombia: post-abortion care for complications of unsafe abortions, and for legal abortions in a health facility, misoprostol-only medical abortion and vacuum aspiration abortion. Hospital billing records from three institutions, two large maternity hospitals and one specialist reproductive health clinic, were analysed for procedure and complication rates, and costs by diagnosis. The majority of visits (94%) were to the two hospitals for post-abortion care; the other 6% were for legal abortions. Only one minor complication was found among the women having legal abortions, a complication rate of less than 1%. Among the women presenting for post-abortion care, 5% had complications during their treatment, mainly from infection or haemorrhage. Legal abortions were associated not only with far fewer complications for women, but also lower costs for the health system than for post-abortion care. We calculated based on our findings that for every 1,000 women receiving post-abortion care instead of a legal abortion within the health system, 16 women experienced avoidable complications, and the health system spent US $48,000 managing them. Increasing women's access to safe abortion care would not only reduce complications for women, but would also be a cost-saving strategy for the health system
Abortion · Environmental health · Family medicine · Family planning · Health care · Incomplete Abortion · Medical abortion · Misoprostol · Obstetrics · Population · Pregnancy · Products of conception · Reproductive health · Unsafe abortion · Vacuum aspiration · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Global Maternal and Child Health · Law · Medicine · Reproductive Health and Contraception
Postabortion care in Latin America
Safety of Aspiration Abortion Performed by Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse Midwives, and Physician Assistants Under a California Legal Waiver
La situación del aborto en Colombia
The health exception
Obstacles and challenges following the partial decriminalisation of abortion in Colombia
Exploring the costs and economic consequences of unsafe abortion in Mexico City before legalisation
Women's Perspectives on Medical Abortion in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,11 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2017 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |