Associations Between Program-Level Abortion Training and Graduate Preparation for and Provision of Reproductive Care

The role of training in the declining rate of family physicians' provision of women's reproductive health care is unclear. No requirements for abortion training exist, and curricula vary widely. This study assessed the impact of program-level abortion training availability on graduates' feelings of training adequacy and their postgraduate practice in reproductive health.

We conducted secondary analysis of graduate survey data from 18 family medicine residency programs in the Northwest categorized by whether or not their program routinely offered abortion training (opt out or elective rotation). We used bivariate analyses and logistic regression to compare groups on preparation for training and current clinical practice of women's health procedures.

Six of 18 programs included in the study had routinely available abortion training for graduates (N=408). In bivariate analysis, these programs with routine abortion training had significantly more graduates who report feeling prepared to perform abortions (19% vs 10%; P=.01), but no difference in likelihood to provide abortion care postresidency compared to programs without routine abortion training. In adjusted analyses, graduates of programs with routine abortion training were significantly less likely to feel prepared for performing colposcopies (OR=0.45, 95% CI, 0.26-0.78; P<.01) and to actually perform them in practice (OR=0.32, 95% CI, 0.18-0.57; P<.001); all other differences are attenuated.

Program-level abortion training alone is not enough to overcome the systems- and individual-level barriers to increasing the numbers of trained family medicine residency graduates who provide abortion care and other reproductive care in practice. More must be done to create opportunities for family physicians interested in providing full-spectrum care in their postgraduate practices to be able to do so.