•Cross-sectional study conducted from July to August 2024

•Sample: 506 women aged 15–49 years from Kinshasa and North-Kivu

•Multistage cluster sampling across 17 health zones

•Household surveys using digitized questionnaires

•Used the Abortion Self-Efficacy Scale (ASES) to assess three domains: resilience, access to information/care, and social resource use

•Respondents rated their confidence for each item on a scale from 0 (no confidence) to 10 (full confidence)

•Total score (0–150), sub-scores (0–60, 0–60, 0–30), or mean scores were used for analysis

•Mean scores were categorized into: no confidence (0–1), low (2–4), moderate (5–7), high (8–10)

• Data analysis involved descriptive and inferential statistics to explore associations between self-efficacy and socio-demographic factors using STATA/SE 15.1 and IBM SPSS 27 with CI 95%.

 

 

•58.9% from Kinshasa and 41.1% from North-Kivu

•Age group 20–29 years: 53.8%, Unmarried: 61.3%, Secondary education: 40.3%

•Knowledge: 7.1% aware of abortion services, 6.9% aware of abortion methods

•Mean ASES score: 35.1/150

•Confidence levels: No (47%), Low (27.5%), Moderate (15.8%), High (9.7%)

•ASES subscales: Resilience (3.09/10), Access to care (2.29/10), Social resources (2.02/10)

•Self-efficacy linked to education (p=0.039), religion (p=0.023), and marital status (p<0.001)

•Lower self-efficacy associated with past abortion, supporting others, or sharing abortion information(p<0.001).

 

Conclusion

The study reveals low abortion self-efficacy and poor knowledge of safe abortion practices in DRC. Efforts are needed to empower women through education, peer support, legal knowledge, and community-based approaches. These could improve their ability to safely seek abortion services and support others.