Women's Experiences Using Telemedicine to Attend Abortion Information Visits in Utah: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Introduction: Utah requires abortion patients to wait at least 72 hours between attending mandatory information sessions and having an abortion. In 2015, Planned Parenthood Association of Utah began offering telemedicine as a way for patients to attend state-mandated information visits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate patients' experiences using telemedicine to attend abortion information visits.

Methods: Between April and October 2017, we conducted 18 in-depth interviews with women who used telemedicine to attend state-mandated information visits. Interviews were qualitatively analyzed using iterative thematic techniques to identify themes related to experience and acceptability of telemedicine to attend information visits.

Main findings: Women reported telemedicine helped to minimize the burdens of cost, travel, and time associated with attending two in-person visits. Those who lived near a clinic that offered in-person information sessions reported the additional benefit of maintaining privacy by not being seen at the clinic. Overall, women reported that telemedicine was easy to use and felt the nurse was attentive to their emotions over video. A minority of women said they would have preferred an in-person visit, but the burdens of attending in person led them to choose telemedicine.

Conclusions: The findings from this study indicate that telemedicine is highly acceptable to patients as a mode of attending state-mandated information visits for abortion. Although telemedicine does not eliminate the logistical and financial burdens previously found to be associated with Utah's 72-hour waiting period and two-visit requirement, telemedicine may reduce the burdens associated with two-visit requirements for abortion and should be adopted in states that require face-to-face information sessions.