“My Health in My Hands”: Evaluating a Community-Led Intervention from the Georgia Medication Abortion Project
Abstract
Background: Medication abortion is the most common method for ending a pregnancy in the US; however, knowledge about medication abortion remains low. With Roe v. Wade now overturned, and nearly half of all states having enacted abortion bans, the use of abortion pills is likely to continue to increase. This is particularly important for Black and Latinx populations who simultaneously experience the greatest need for abortion and the poorest access to care. Despite this, research on medication abortion that centers Black and Latinx populations remains scarce. In response to this gap, [organization anonymized for peer review] created The Georgia Medication Abortion Project (GAMA), which aims to assess and increase medication abortion knowledge and access among Black and Latinx Georgians. A previous qualitative study from GAMA identified a need for community-based educational media; therefore, the current study aimed to evaluate data from “My Health in My Hands,” a GAMA video intervention designed to increase medication abortion knowledge.
Methods: Participants completed a pre-test, viewed the media intervention “My Health in My Hands” online, and completed a post-test in immediate succession. Pre-post surveys assessed the primary outcome, medication abortion knowledge. Data were analyzed using linear and logistic regression through PROC GENMOD in SAS 9.4.
Results: Pilot study results (N=855) demonstrate that knowledge scores significantly increased from 3.88/5.00 to 4.47/5.00 after exposure to the intervention. Participants who were Native American, AAPI, Multiracial, Black, <20 years old, and living in Georgia scored below the sample mean at baseline; however, nearly all disparities disappeared following the intervention. Data collection for the full study is ongoing, and complete results will be available in April 2024.
Conclusions: These promising findings from a pilot study suggest that a community-led, evidence-based media intervention can increase medication abortion knowledge among a diverse audience and reduce racial/ethnic, age, and geographic disparities.
Keywords
abortion, reproductive health, health communications, community-led research, health literacy, health education, community-based participatory research
“My Health in My Hands”: Evaluating a Community-Led Intervention from the Georgia Medication Abortion Project
Background: Medication abortion is the most common method for ending a pregnancy in the US; however, knowledge about medication abortion remains low. With Roe v. Wade now overturned, and nearly half of all states having enacted abortion bans, the use of abortion pills is likely to continue to increase. This is particularly important for Black and Latinx populations who simultaneously experience the greatest need for abortion and the poorest access to care. Despite this, research on medication abortion that centers Black and Latinx populations remains scarce. In response to this gap, [organization anonymized for peer review] created The Georgia Medication Abortion Project (GAMA), which aims to assess and increase medication abortion knowledge and access among Black and Latinx Georgians. A previous qualitative study from GAMA identified a need for community-based educational media; therefore, the current study aimed to evaluate data from “My Health in My Hands,” a GAMA video intervention designed to increase medication abortion knowledge.
Methods: Participants completed a pre-test, viewed the media intervention “My Health in My Hands” online, and completed a post-test in immediate succession. Pre-post surveys assessed the primary outcome, medication abortion knowledge. Data were analyzed using linear and logistic regression through PROC GENMOD in SAS 9.4.
Results: Pilot study results (N=855) demonstrate that knowledge scores significantly increased from 3.88/5.00 to 4.47/5.00 after exposure to the intervention. Participants who were Native American, AAPI, Multiracial, Black, <20 years>old, and living in Georgia scored below the sample mean at baseline; however, nearly all disparities disappeared following the intervention. Data collection for the full study is ongoing, and complete results will be available in April 2024.
Conclusions: These promising findings from a pilot study suggest that a community-led, evidence-based media intervention can increase medication abortion knowledge among a diverse audience and reduce racial/ethnic, age, and geographic disparities.
