Women's preference for receiving abortion in primary care settings

Background: Abortion is increasingly being incorporated into primary care training programs. It remains unclear if women, given the option, would accept and access these services with their primary care provider. Methods: An anonymous survey was administered to 299 women at two abortion clinics in New York and Chicago. Results: One hundred seventy-four (58.2%) respondents theoretically would choose their primary care clinic for their abortion procedure, with more Chicago participants than New York participants choosing primary care. After adjusting for other variables, only being very or somewhat comfortable with one's primary care provider regarding issues of pregnancy prevention and birth control predicted the choice of primary care for abortion services. Conclusions: The majority of women surveyed theoretically would choose to have a procedure at their primary care clinic. There were some regional differences between New York and Chicago. Although many variables used in this study did not explain the respondents' preferences, the primary care clinic as site for abortion care appears to be an important potential option for many women. Primary care training programs should teach full-spectrum reproductive healthcare to help meet the needs of their patients.