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Published on: February 3, 2026
Abortion information seeking: Engaged patients, stigma, and emotion work
Orlaith Heymann1, Hillary Gyuras2, Tamika Odum2
1The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Department of Sociology, United States.
Social Science & Medicine (1982)
|May 6, 2026
Summary
Seeking abortion information involves emotional labor, intensified by stigma. Patients may avoid information to reduce this burden, highlighting challenges in accessing care for stigmatized health concerns.
Area of Science:
- Health Communication
- Medical Sociology
- Patient Experience Research
Background:
- Limited research exists on how patients gather information for stigmatized health issues.
- Abortion is a highly stigmatized health concern, impacting patient information-seeking behaviors and emotional experiences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine abortion patients' experiences with seeking health information.
- To understand the role of emotions in the information-seeking process for abortion care.
- To investigate how stigma influences information-seeking labor and strategies.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative study involving 41 in-depth interviews with abortion patients in Ohio.
- Analysis of participants' accounts of information-seeking, emotion work, and coping strategies.
Main Results:
- Information work (assembling and evaluating health data) for abortion care is intertwined with emotion work.
- Societal stigma surrounding abortion significantly amplifies the emotional labor required.
- Participants employed strategies to mitigate this burden, such as information avoidance when encountering stigma or misinformation.
Conclusions:
- The current information environment places a substantial burden on abortion seekers.
- Information-seeking may not always be beneficial in highly stigmatized health contexts.
- Findings offer insights into patient engagement/avoidance in abortion care and other politicized health contexts.
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