Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 9, 2025

Breakfast Habits among Schoolchildren in the City of Uruguaiana, Brazil
Published on: July 29, 2020
COVID-19 Pandemic and Hospitalizations due to Abortion among 10- to 14-Year-Old Girls in Brazil
Maria Isabel do Nascimento1, Thalys Gabriel Rabelo Silva2, Victor Joshua de Aguiar Mello Nascimento2
1Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Cirurgia Geral e Especializada, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Brazil.
Introduction:
Various non-pharmacological interventions to prevent coronavirus dissemination were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, including school closures. The effect of these interventions on particular aspects of people's lives such as sexual and reproductive health outcomes has not been adequately discussed. The objective of the study was to compare the monthly hospital admission rates due to abortion before and during school closure.
Methods:
We used an interrupted time series (IES) design to estimate the hospital admission rates before and during the school closure (intervention in March 2020) period. The analysis was performed considering all girls from age groups of interest and by stratifying the age groups according to skin color (white and non-white) in which the non-white category comprised both the black and mixed ethnicity together. Coefficients and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated using segmented linear regression models.
Results:
The results showed positive and statistically significant coefficients, suggesting post-intervention trend changes both in the population as a whole (coefficient: 0.07; 95% CI: 0.02; 0.11) and the non-white population group (coefficient: 0.07; 95% CI: 0.03; 0.11), indicating that the monthly hospital admission rates increased over the post-intervention period compared to baseline pre-intervention period. The ITS analysis did not detect statistically significant trend changes (coefficient: 0.02; 95% CI: -0.01; 0.05) in abortion admission rates in the white girl population group.
Conclusion:
The hospitalizations in Brazil due to abortions in 10- to 14-year-old girls increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 compared to 2019, and the number of abortions was higher in the non-white population than the white population. Furthermore, recognizing that the implementation of school closure has affected the minority population differentially can help develop more effective actions to face other future similar situations.
More Related Videos
14:43A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting
Published on: January 12, 2018
05:46Introduction of Intracapsular Rotary-cut Procedures IRCP: A Modified Hysteromyomectomy Procedures Facilitating Fertility Preservation
Published on: January 17, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Ethical Dilemmas I
Let us explore some examples to understand the potentially complex moral decisions nurses face.
Take the case of caring for minors, particularly in areas related to reproductive...
Disorders of the Female Reproductive System
CRISPR
Specialized Care Centers and Settings-II
Rural health centers are specialized care facilities in remote locations with very few medical personnel. The primary care providers who run the centers are mostly Registered Nurse Practitioners. Here, emergency treatment is provided to critically ill or injured patients before they are transferred to the closest hospital. Fortunately, due to advancement in technology, many rural healthcare facilities and professionals have easy access to diagnostic and treatment...
Teratogenicity