Rennison, Catriona;
Woodhead, Emily Jane;
Horan, Corrina;
Lohr, Patricia A;
Kavanagh, Jayne;
(2022)
Abortion education in UK medical schools: a survey of medical educators.
BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health
10.1136/bmjsrh-2021-201387.
(In press).
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Abstract
AIM: The 2019 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on abortion care emphasised the importance of teaching the topic at undergraduate and postgraduate level. This study aimed to investigate the current provision of undergraduate abortion education in UK medical schools. METHODS: Relevant medical ethics and clinical leads from the 33 established UK medical schools were invited to complete surveys on the ethico-legal or clinical aspects, respectively, of their institution's abortion teaching. The surveys explored how abortion is currently taught, assessed the respondent's opinion on current barriers to comprehensive teaching, and their desire for further guidance on undergraduate abortion teaching. RESULTS: Some 76% (25/33) of medical schools responded to one or both surveys. The number of hours spent on ethico-legal teaching ranged from under 1 hour to over 8 hours, with most clinical teaching lasting under 2 hours. Barriers to teaching were reported by 68% (21/31) of respondents, the most common being difficulty accessing clinical placements, lack of curriculum time, and the perception of abortion as a sensitive topic. Some 74% (23/31) of respondents would welcome additional guidance on teaching abortion to medical undergraduates. CONCLUSIONS: Education on abortion, particularly clinical education, varies widely among UK medical schools. Most educators experience barriers to providing comprehensive abortion teaching and would welcome up-to-date guidance on teaching both the clinical and ethico-legal aspects of abortion to medical students. It is essential that medical schools address the barriers to teaching, to ensure all medical students have the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide competent and respectful abortion-related care once qualified.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Abortion education in UK medical schools: a survey of medical educators |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1136/bmjsrh-2021-201387 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsrh-2021-201387 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Social Sciences, Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Family Studies, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Social Sciences, Biomedical, Biomedical Social Sciences, abortion, induced, therapeutic, health education, reproductive health, surveys and questionnaires, STUDENTS |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > UCL Medical School UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10150076 |
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