Early abortion care during the COVID‐19 public health emergency in Ireland: Implications for law, policy, and service delivery

Spillane, Alison; Taylor, Maeve; Henchion, Caitriona; Venables, Róisín; Conlon, Catherine

doi:10.1002/ijgo.13720

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The results of this study indicated that the pooled proportion of abortion care services utilization in Ethiopia was reduced by 19.39%. This finding was supported by findings of previous studies done in Belgium [ 75 ] and Ireland [ 76 ], which reported a substantial reduction in abortion care services during COVID-19. The reason for the reduction in abortion care is that women perhaps engaged less in risky sexual behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic, and were challenged less with unexpected pregnancies [ 77 , 78 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

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Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on utilization of essential maternal healthcare services in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Mekonnen¹,

Yirdaw²

2023

PLoS ONE

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic has a significant challenge for countries to maintain the provision of essential maternity services. Many women could experience difficulties in accessing maternal healthcare due to transport problems, anxiety, and fear of infection. A reduction in the utilization of maternity services has been suggested as a possible cause of worsened maternal health outcomes. Thus, this study aimed to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the utilization of maternal healthcare services in Ethiopia. Methods Searching of articles was conducted from PubMed, Science Direct, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google scholar. The quality of studies was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Inspection of the Funnel plot and Egger’s test were used to evaluate the evidence of publication bias. Heterogeneity was evaluated using Cochran’s Q statistic and quantified by I2. A random-effects model was used to determine pooled estimates using STATA 14. Results After reviewing 41,188 articles, 21 studies were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled reduction was 26.62% (95% CI: 13.86, 39.37) for family planning, 19.30% (95% CI: 15.85, 22.76) for antenatal care, 12.82% (95% CI: 7.29, 18.34) for institutional delivery, 17.82% (95% CI: 8.32, 27.32) for postnatal care, and 19.39% (95% CI: 11.29, 27.49) for abortion care. This study also demonstrated that maternal perception of poor quality of care and fear of infection, lack of transport, cultural events, diversion of resources, lack of essential drugs, and lack of personal protective equipment and sanitizer were identified as the main challenges faced during the pandemic. Conclusion This study revealed that the utilization of maternal healthcare services in Ethiopia significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Government measures, health facility-related barriers, and maternal-related factors were identified as challenges faced during the pandemic. Thus, service providers, policy-makers, and other relevant stakeholders should prioritize maternity care as an essential core healthcare service. Besides, increasing awareness of women through mass media, and making maternity services more accessible and equitable would likely increase the utilization of maternal healthcare services. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42021293681.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…studies done in Belgium [75] and Ireland [76], which reported a substantial reduction in abortion care services during COVID-19. The reason for the reduction in abortion care is that women perhaps engaged less in risky sexual behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic, and were challenged less with unexpected pregnancies [77,78].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on utilization of essential maternal healthcare services in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Mekonnen¹,

Yirdaw²

2023

PLoS ONE

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“…In April 2020, Ireland's Department of Health issued temporary emergency provisions, intended to only last for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, which allow the two mandatory consultations for abortion to take place remotely ( 21 ). Medical practitioners may choose to require that at least one of the consultations occur in-person, but the provisions recommend that in-person consultations be kept to a minimum during the COVID-19 public health emergency ( 21 – 23 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Easing of Regulatory Barriers to Telemedicine Abortion in Response to COVID-19

Skuster

Dhillon²,

2021

Front. Glob. Womens Health

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For many people seeking abortion during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine abortion is the safest and most acceptable method, posing lower risk of exposure to the virus. In addition, by reducing in-person visits with health care providers, increased use of telemedicine for abortion can reduce pressure on overburdened health systems. Given the benefits of telemedicine during the pandemic, government agencies in several countries took measures to temporarily allow telemedicine abortion. We conducted key-word English-language searches to identify examples of government action to remove regulatory barriers to the practice of telemedicine abortion in response to the pandemic. We found instances of government agencies in eight countries taking steps to ease regulatory barriers to telemedicine abortion. Telemedicine abortion is safe, cost-effective, and may be the preferred method of abortion during acute periods of COVID-19 transmission, as well as after the pandemic has abated. As one step to expanding access to abortion with medicine where abortion is legal, health agencies and other regulatory bodies can take steps to remove barriers specific to telemedicine abortion.

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“…A recent article by Spillane et al 1 discussed the experience of the Irish Family Planning Association in implementing early abortion care via telemedicine in Ireland during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The study attests to the efforts needed to guarantee access to essential health services for women and girls during a public health emergency.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Brazil leads the world in the number of maternal deaths due to COVID‐19 4 . The Ministry of Health is halting vaccination of pregnant women and the Supreme Court declined the petition asking for priority vaccination access for pregnant women 5 . The cases of Ireland and Brazil demonstrate how urgent it is to guarantee abortion access via telemedicine, protect healthcare providers, and expand access to essential care for the most vulnerable women and girls in our societies.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%