Who is providing abortion services?

A key priority of the National Women's Health Strategy is to ensure equitable access to abortion services across Australia. While early medical abortion can be delivered in primary care, the availability of surgical termination remains patchy and inconsistent in both community hospital settings. This project will seek to answer the question - who is providing abortion services in Australia and importantly will document gaps in service provision in hospital services particularly in relation to availability of abortion services beyond the first trimester. This mixed method study will involve interviews with key stakeholders and an audit of abortion service provision across local hospital districts. The outcomes will inform policy development to support enduring access for women Australia wide. This project sits within a program of research being undertaken by Professor Mazza in SPHERE, a NHMRC-funded Centre of Research Excellence in Sexual and Reproductive Health for Women in Primary Care. This is the first dedicated Centre to lead research that is aimed at improving the quality, safety, and capacity of primary health care services to achieve better outcomes in women’s sexual and reproductive health. Students working under SPHERE will be supported by Professor Mazza's research team, which consists of Post Docs, PhD students, academic registrars and honours students. They will also have the opportunity to be part of a large, multidisciplinary, collaborative team of investigators, which includes prominent national and international researchers and experts working in women’s health, general practice, pharmacy, nursing, epidemiology, knowledge translation, health economics, and policy development. This study would be suitable for BMedSci, BBiomed Sci and Pharmacy or other honours students or as a Masters of Public Health research project.