Primary Submission Category: Reproductive health
The CARES Project: A community-engaged project to explore and improve abortion-related self-care resources in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Authors: Zoé Hendrickson, Alexa Pierce, Taylor Mathis, Sheila Ramgopal, Amy Collins, Neha Devineni, Natalie Sweet, Olivia Stransky, Sarah Sanders, Elizabeth Mosley, Cynthia Salter,
Presenting Author: Zoé Hendrickson*
Pregnant people in the United States face significant barriers to accessing quality, timely, abortion care. Post Dobbs, these barriers have intensified, widening inequities nationwide. Self-care resources can prioritize autonomy and reduce abortion care barriers as people navigate their pregnancies. The Self-Care for Abortion through Reproductive Justice, Doulas, and the Arts (CARES) Project uses a community-engaged approach to examine the support received and self-care resources used before, during, and after abortion care in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, to identify how to better meet people’s needs. This community-academic partnership includes public health and medical schools, service providers, and reproductive justice and community arts organizations. The mixed-methods CARES Project uses qualitative, quantitative, and arts-based methods. To date, we have conducted 19 qualitative interviews with frontline abortion workers, doulas, and abortion clients; 40 surveys with post-abortion clients; and an arts-based workshop. Data collection and analysis will conclude in early Summer 2025. Preliminary survey findings suggest that abortion clients – most of whom were in their late 20s, had some college education, and identified as Black – reported emotional, logistical, informational, and financial support when seeking abortion services. However, legal, financial, and social barriers to accessing abortion care remained. Self-care resources were used infrequently, most often before rather than during or post-abortion. Frontline abortion workers emphasized that while community resources exist to support clients, legal, financial, and social barriers prevent people from being connecting to them. To address ongoing barriers to support and care for abortion clients in Allegheny County, there is an urgent need to: 1) improve resources for clients to use not only before, but also during and post-abortion and 2) better connect people with existing resources.