The objective of this research was to explore the context of abortion stigma in Ghana and Zambia through qualitative research, and develop a quantitative instrument to measure stigmatizing attitudes and beliefs about abortion. Focus group discussions were conducted in both countries, and a Stigmatizing Attitudes, Beliefs, and Actions scale was created. It captures three important dimensions of abortion stigma: negative stereotypes about men and women who are associated with abortion, discrimination/exclusion of women who have abortions, and fear of contagion as a result of coming into contact with a woman who has had an abortion. It provides a validated tool for measuring stigmatizing attitudes and beliefs about abortion in Ghana and Zambia and has the potential to be applicable in other country settings.
Country: Zambia
Making a difference: Two years of service delivery at 25 intervention sites in Zambia shows more women have access to safe abortion services
This is the first in a series of fact sheets highlighting Zambia operations research study.
Women’s voices: Results from post-abortion client interviews in Zambia
This is a fact sheet highlighting women’s perspectives on abortion care as part of operations research in Zambia.
Enhancing the quality of abortion care: Successful initiatives to improve clinical skills and facility services
This report looks at initiatives in four countries—Nigeria, Nepal, Ghana and Zambia—where Ipas is working with governments, communities and other partners to provide clinical and programmatic support to providers and health-care facilities.
Moving from legality to reality: How medical abortion methods were introduced with implementation science in Zambia
Abortion is technically legal in Zambia, but the reality is far more complicated. This study describes the process and results of galvanizing access to medical abortion where abortion has been legal for many years, but provision severely limited. It highlights the challenges and successes of scaling up abortion care using implementation science to document two years of implementation. The findings provide a case study of medical abortion introduction in Zambia and offer important lessons for expanding safe and legal abortion access in similar settings across Africa.
What contraception do women use after abortion? An analysis of 319,385 cases from eight countries
Contraception is an essential element of high-quality abortion care. However, women seeking abortion often leave health facilities without receiving contraceptive counselling or methods, increasing their risk of unintended pregnancy. This paper describes contraceptive uptake in 319,385 women seeking abortion in 2,326 public-sector health facilities in eight African and Asian countries. Ministries of Health integrated contraceptive and abortion services, with technical assistance from Ipas. Overall, postabortion contraceptive uptake was 73 percent. The findings demonstrate high contraceptive uptake when it is delivered at the time of the abortion, a wide range of contraceptive commodities is available, and ongoing monitoring of services occurs.
Attitudes toward abortion in Zambia
Comprehensive Abortion Care for Young Women: Preliminary results from an Ipas Zambia pilot project with fully integrated youth participation
From 2012 to 2014, Ipas Zambia implemented the Comprehensive Abortion Care for Young Women pilot project in Lusaka Province to improve young women’s access to, use of and involvement in youth-appropriate, high-quality abortion care. This brief focuses on the first two objectives of the pilot project, which sought to address young women’s rights and needs related to abortion care and to document how comprehensive abortion care services can be made more appropriate for young women through youth participation in all aspects of the project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Working in communities matters! Results from Postabortion clients in Zambia.
This two-page research brief looks at the results of client exit interviews conducted in 2014 with 616 Zambian women who sought a safe and legal pregnancy termination. The interviews explored issues of quality, service delivery and information dissemination as perceived by the women themselves—a perspective often neglected in reproductive health.
Expanding roles of providers in safe abortion care: A programmatic approach to meeting women’s needs
This brief examines the key results from expanding abortion service provision to midlevel providers in 10 Ipas country programs throughout Asia and Africa, including a global analysis of programmatic data from all 10 countries and two case studies (Ethiopia and Bangladesh).