Experiences and Perceptions of Doctors, Nurses, and Midwives Providing Abortion Care in Australia: A Scoping Review

Doctors, nurses, and midwives are key providers of abortion care for women in Australia. Providing abortion care is a challenging, contentious, and sometimes perilous occupation. Recent changes in the Australian abortion care landscape mean that it is essential to consider the experiences and perceptions of the abortion workforce and to identify future needs.

The aim of this review was to collate and report the experiences and perceptions of doctors, nurses, and midwives who provide abortion care in Australia.

A scoping review was utilised to address this question, applying Arksey and O'Malley's framework with enhancements by Levac et al. Research question development and reporting approaches were informed by Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Health.

In total, 19 articles were included in the review. Studies were predominantly qualitative in nature and encompassed all three clinical groups. Most studies included participants from multiple Australian sites, with five focusing specifically on Victorian participants. Overarching themes included: clinical care provision; person-centred care; social and system-based factors; provider education, training and networks; abortion and the law; ethical challenges; emotional responses; abortion stigma; and conscientious objection.

The experiences of Australian abortion providers reflect shared challenges relating to: training access; ethical and emotional impacts; abortion stigma; and conscientious objection. Navigating changing system, regulatory, and legal frameworks compounds this complexity.

Further research into the experiences of abortion providers will inform support interventions. Legislators, regulators, and health service executives must listen to the needs of providers to ensure service sustainability into the future.