Title: Adaptation of comprehensive abortion care Best Practice Papers in low-income countries.

Presenter and author: Dr. MFITUMUKIZA Jerome

Objective: To increase the dissemination of concise clinical guidance on abortion to improve health worker knowledge and confidence to provide, develop and/or support abortion services.

Background:  Approximately 97% of unsafe abortions occur in LMICs and Africa has the highest burden of abortion-related deaths globally (Ganatra B, 2017). Lack of effective dissemination of guidelines and education about legal indications for and provision of safe abortion contributes to higher mortality and morbidity in these settings.

Method: The BPP is a guidance document that synthesizes the evidence to develop and provide quality abortion services. 

SRHR Champions adapt the papers by:

•Identifying amendments that need to be made to suit the local context 

•Holding stakeholder meetings to gain consensus and validate a draft

•Appointing peer reviewers 

•Drafting a final version for presentation to the Ministry of Health for endorsement

•Sending the national adaptation to RCOG for endorsement

Disseminating through local stakeholders including O&G society, midwifery and nursing organizations, and educational institutions.

Results: Healthcare professionals have access to a locally relevant and endorsed, concise and practical tool, grounded in the latest evidence and best practice to support their implementation of abortion and post-abortion care services. 

Conclusions:  The BPPs are a useful guiding tool, which can be adapted to support clinicians in LMICs to develop, tailored, locally relevant guidelines.  These guidelines can increase healthcare worker knowledge and confidence in providing abortion and post-abortion care and support high-quality abortion education.

 

References:

•Ganatra B, G. C. (2017). Global, regional, and subregional classification of abortions by safety, 2010–14: estimates from a Bayesian hierarchical model. The Lancet.