How Far is too Far- Qualitative Arm (Version 1.0)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
"How Far is too Far?"- Creating an evidence base to support safe provision of medication abortion for people living far from emergency services- Qualitative Arm
IRAS ID
355840
Contact name
John J Reynolds-Wright
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
At present, the vast majority of abortions within Scotland occur as early medical abortions at home. Local guidelines in some health boards stipulate that people under going a medical abortion at home should reside within a certain specified distance to emergency care. This can result in some patients making unnecessary journeys or taking unnecessary risks to be closer to medical care. As there is not an evidence base surrounding this, local approaches vary widely. This study will seek to gain valuable insight into how intersecting systems affect abortion experiences and attitudes at both individual and systems level, with the aim of creating a more standardised approach to abortion care within Scotland.
This study forms part of a multi centre collaboration with teams based in Canada, Sweden, Australia and Scotland. Each jurisdiction will conduct their own qualitative research aimed at gaining evidence on the experience of both patients and health care providers in remote communities.
Two separate groups will be recruited: Group A consisting of patients who reside in a remote community and have either considered or accessed an abortion in the past or may need to in the future, and Group B consisting of Healthcare providers who provide abortion to people in remote communities. One-to-One interviews will be conducted by a qualitative researcher from Scotland using a semi-structured topic guide either in person, via teleconferencing or telephone.Full deidentified transcripts of the interviews will be uploaded to the secure UK based data sharing platform- Huddle- to allow for comparison of the qualitative data between jurisdictions. Although the study forms part of a multi-centre collaboration, it is felt that the findings will be particularly applicable when looking to improve the provision of remote and rural abortions within Scotland specifically.
REC name
London - Hampstead Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/LO/0459
Date of REC Opinion
6 Aug 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion