CLIENT EXPERIENCE STUDY
Abortion care is often stigmatized, and both clients and providers tell us they are hesitant to bring up the topic.
Provide conducted the Client Experience Study, the first of its kind and a major contribution to the field, to deepen our understanding about what clients prefer and learn more about the impact of our Abortion Referrals Training. Conducted with patients at family planning clinics in the South, our study examined their pregnancy options counseling experience and whether they were satisfied with their care.
Key Findings
Clients are better able to have a more honest, effective conversation about what they actually want and need when providers offer all options in an unbiased, respectful way. The findings from our study underscore that providers should proactively name all options, including abortion, and offer to discuss any the client is interested in. An article on a key finding from our study has been published in the highly respected peer-reviewed journal Contraception.
What Clients Prefer
Our study’s results provide robust evidence that clients want abortion to be brought up and are more satisfied with their pregnancy counseling experience when their provider discuss all options. Clients were approximately 80% more likely to rate their counseling as “excellent” on all scale items when their provider discussed all options compared to when they did not. This was even true for clients who planned to continue their pregnancy.
Racial Disparities
Our study revealed significant racial disparities in options counseling and referral, with Black clients being less likely to receive information about abortion and more likely to leave the clinic with an unmet need for abortion referral. The findings highlight why it is important to offer all options to every client, every time. An article on this key finding, developed in partnership with Emory University, has been published in Health Services Research.
Referrals Training Impact
Our Abortion Referrals Training can help you offer client-centered pregnancy options counseling that leads to exceptional client experiences and outcomes. The training has a dramatic impact on providers’ willingness and ability to incorporate abortion into their counseling and referral practices.
Professionals who received Provide’s Referrals Training
- were three times more likely to discuss abortion with their clients
- were twice as likely to make a referral for abortion
- discussed all options at a rate four times higher (17.7% vs 4%) than untrained providers
Quotes From Client Interviews
"She asked me how I was feeling about the pregnancy and I told her I was gonna keep the child. Then she asked me if I would like any pamphlets for abortion or adoption, and I denied them. I liked how she brought it up. It wasn’t, judgmental or pushiness. It was, you know, like an option."
“I like how she was willing to give me all the information but also understood my choice. We went into conversation about how I felt about it, and she made me feel more comfortable. That’s what I liked about the conversation…her telling me the three options.”
“I think they should talk about it, because a lot of girls are in a situation they don’t want to be in, and abortion is not an easy subject. Having somebody just say openly, ‘Are you considering adoption? Are you considering abortion?’ will be easier on a lot of girls who are very unsure and worried about what people are going to say.”
“I would prefer them to offer discussing it with me. If you’re looking at abortion for instance, you’re able to discuss it with somebody that doesn’t make you feel judgment.”
