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[Induced abortion in a Swiss canton from 1990 to 1993: implications for epidemiological surveillance]
Background:
To describe abortion utilization in the Canton of Vaud (Switzerland) and to identify desirable changes in the data collection system to improve the epidemiologic monitoring
Methods:
Retrospective survey of the 5600 abortion requests to the Canton Health Authority for resident women between 1990 and 1993.
Results:
Nine women out of 1000 residents requested an abortion, but the abortion rate was higher among women of foreign origin compared to Swiss women (17/1000 vs. 6/1000, p < 0.0001). The proportion of terminated recognized conceptions was 127/1000, and the ratio of IVG to livebirths was 0.18. The abortion rate was lower during adolescence (6/1000) or after 40 years of age (1.8/1000), whereas the proportion of terminated conceptions was highest at these ages (527/1000 and 312/1000). Abortion utilization in Canton of Vaud is among the lowest.
Conclusions:
Although these indicators do reflect a satisfactory accessibility and use of family planning services, improvements could be made. A better knowledge of the causes (motives, contraceptive method, reproductive history) and of the consequences of abortion (psycho-social implications, medical complications) would allow to design more focused prevention strategies and to fit health services to current needs. Updating the 1942 Swiss legislation is also desirable.