Abstract
Background: Abortion-related stigma is a significant barrier in preventing individuals from seeking necessary healthcare. Person-centered language within medical literature has the potential to help minimize stigma and thus, could have positive downstream effects on patient outcomes and access to care. By being intentional with language, abortion-related stigma may be decreased within literature and among the medical community.
Objectives: Our primary objective was to investigate adherence to person-centered language(PCL) in pregnancy termination-related publications.
Methods: This cross-sectional study searched Pubmed for abortion-related medical literature published from January 1, 2018, to March 7, 2021. Articles were then randomized and searched by two investigators using a list of predetermined, stigmatizing terms. Results: Of the 232 included articles, only 18.97% (44/232) were PCL adherent. Over half of the articles (127/232) included the term “service” in relation to an abortion procedure and was the most commonly used stigmatizing label. Other common labels included were “abortion provider”, “baby”, and “client”.
Conclusions: The majority of abortion-related articles did not adhere to PCL guidelines or the recommendations set forth by the Internal Planned Parenthood Federation’s “How To Talk About Abortion” guide. Access to a safe and legal abortion is of critical importance in reproductive healthcare. As a highly stigmatized medical procedure, the research community’s intentional use of PCL can help break down the perpetuation of this stigma.
Objectives: Our primary objective was to investigate adherence to person-centered language(PCL) in pregnancy termination-related publications.
Methods: This cross-sectional study searched Pubmed for abortion-related medical literature published from January 1, 2018, to March 7, 2021. Articles were then randomized and searched by two investigators using a list of predetermined, stigmatizing terms. Results: Of the 232 included articles, only 18.97% (44/232) were PCL adherent. Over half of the articles (127/232) included the term “service” in relation to an abortion procedure and was the most commonly used stigmatizing label. Other common labels included were “abortion provider”, “baby”, and “client”.
Conclusions: The majority of abortion-related articles did not adhere to PCL guidelines or the recommendations set forth by the Internal Planned Parenthood Federation’s “How To Talk About Abortion” guide. Access to a safe and legal abortion is of critical importance in reproductive healthcare. As a highly stigmatized medical procedure, the research community’s intentional use of PCL can help break down the perpetuation of this stigma.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 46 |
| State | Published - 18 Feb 2022 |
| Event | Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences Research Week 2022 : Poster Presentation - Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, United States Duration: 14 Feb 2022 → 18 Feb 2022 https://medicine.okstate.edu/research/docs/rw2022_agenda.pdf (Research Week 2022 Agenda) |
Conference
| Conference | Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences Research Week 2022 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | Tulsa |
| Period | 14/02/22 → 18/02/22 |
| Internet address |
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Keywords
- abortion
- women's health
- stigma
- patient-centered care
- person-centered language
- discrimination