EmpoderAR – Investigating informal sector Self-Managed Abortion using web-based Respondent Driven Sampling – a multi country study in Latin America

Latin America is a region with high burden of unsafe abortion.

Due to stigma and restrictive abortion laws, self-managed abortion (SMA) is widespread but carried out clandestinely within the informal health sector.

Little is known about the prevalence of informal sector SMA, its social and medical circumstances and impacts on women’s health and wellbeing.This project aims to understand the prevalence, experiences and needs associated with informal sector SMA, as well as its links to reproductive empowerment, in Latin America.Formative research using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions (sub-study I) will inform the design of a cross sectional study using web-based Respondent Driven Sampling (webRDS) among women of reproductive age (18–49) (sub-study II).

The primary outcome is the estimated population prevalence of SMA. The webRDS will be piloted in Argentina and implemented in Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and Colombia in a stepwise manner.

A sub-sample of participants from the webRDS will be recruited for in-depth interviews to further explore SMA and its relation to reproductive empowerment (sub-study III).

This five year project consist of international and national collaboration and will be run by a multidisciplinary team of capable and experienced researchers.This innovative project will generate new evidence on SMA, which may be used to empower women, improve sexual health and well-being, prevent unwanted pregnancies and avert consequences of unsafe abortion.