Table 1

Characteristics of included studies

Author/yearCountryMethodsParticipants
Aiken et al 201939Northern Ireland, UKQualitative individual in-depth interviews (n=30).Women in Northern Ireland who had sought an abortion by travelling to a clinic in Great Britain or by using online telemedicine to self-manage an abortion at home.
Aiken et al 201728Ireland and Northern Ireland, UKRetrospective cohort study (n=5650).Women living in Ireland and Northern Ireland utilising the online telemedicine services of Women on Web.
Aitken et al 201729IrelandCross sectional study (n=184).Non-consultant hospital doctors training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Antón et al 201646UruguayTimes series design (n=not reported).Data from the Perinatal Information System on births among women and girls below 20 years of age.
Antón et al 201847UruguayTimes series design (n=93 762 births).Data from the Perinatal Information System on planned and unplanned births.
Arambepola and Rajapaksa 201444Sri LankaCase control study (n=771).Women admitted to hospitals due to unsafe abortion (cases) and delivery of an unintended term pregnancy (controls)
Blystad et al 201927Ethiopia, Tanzania, ZambiaQualitative individual interviews (n=79).Representatives of Ministries, religious organisations, non-governmental organisations, UN agencies, professional organisations, health workers, journalists and others
Casas and Vivaldi 201424ChileLegal analysis and qualitative individual interviews (n=61).Hotline providers, healthcare providers, women with experiences of ‘illegal abortions’, their friends, partners and relatives.
Casseres 201823BrazilLegal analysis/commentary based on a legal analysis of 42 criminal lawsuits.N/A.
Citizen’s Coalition 2014El SalvadorLegal case series (n=129) in which records from women who were prosecuted for abortion or aggravated homicide when fetal death occurred in the last months of the pregnancy.N/A.
Centre for Reproductive Rights 2010PhilippinesLegal review/qualitative individual interviews (n=53).Women with experiences of unsafe abortion, acquaintances of women who had died as a result from unsafe abortion, a range of key stakeholders including healthcare providers, lawyers, activists, counsellors, political leaders and law enforcement agents
Clarke and Mühlrad 201632MexicoTimes series design. Analysis of vital statistics data covering live births (n=23 151 080) and maternal deaths (n=11 858) among women aged 15–44.N/A.
De Costa et al 201320Queensland and New South Wales, AustraliaQualitative individual interviews (n=22) .Physicians providing abortions in the states of Queensland and New South Wales.
Douglas et al 201321Queensland and New South Wales, AustraliaQualitative individual interviews (n=22).Physicians providing abortions in the states of Queensland and New South Wales
Fathallah et al 201931LebanonQualitative interviews (n=119).Women who have had an abortion (n=84) and physicians who provide abortion (n=35) in the five provinces of Lebanon between 2003 and 2008.
Friedman et al 201933Mexico City, MexicoTimes series design. Review of the medical records of women (n=35 054) seeking abortion.N/A.
Henderson et al 201338NepalRetrospective cohort study. Review of medical charts (n=23 493) of abortion-related admissions at four public hospitals.N/A.
Juarez et al 201937Querétaro, Tabasco and the State of Mexico, MexicoQualitative individual interviews (n=60).Women aged 15–44 with experience of abortion in the three states Querétaro, Tabasco and the State of Mexico.
Koch et al 201534MexicoTimes series design (n=not reported). Analysis of maternal mortality data from 32 states in Mexico over a 10-year period.N/A.
LaRoche et al 202022AustraliaQualitative individual interviews (n=22).Women, transgender and gender non-binary people from across Australia who had obtained a medical abortion while living in Australia. More than half of the participants (n=13) obtained their abortion in a state where procuring a first-trimester termination was subject to criminal law at the time of their procedure.
Nara et al 201945UgandaQualitative interviews and focus group discussions (n=69).Congolese refugees aged 15–49 living in Kampala and the Nakivale Refugee camp (n=58 (interviews n=21; focus groups n=36)), and key informants working with refugees and/or in the sexual and reproductive health field (n=11).
Påfs et al 202042Kigali, RwandaQualitative individual interviews (n=32) and focus group discussions (n=5).Healthcare providers (physicians, nurses and midwives) involved in post-abortion care (PAC) at three public hospitals
Power et al 202130IrelandQualitative interview (n=10).Fetal medicine specialists.
Ramm et al 202025ChileSurvey instrument (n=313) and qualitative interviews (n=30).Medical and midwifery students at seven universities (survey). Faculty members at the same universities, all of whom were practicing clinicians (interview).
Shahawy 201940PalestineQualitative individual interviews (n=60).Patients, female companions of patients, and hospital staff aged from 18 to 70 years, most of whom were Muslim, married and urban dwellers, had a high school education or less, and had at least three children.
Suh 201443SenegalQualitative individual interviews (n=36) and observations of PAC services at three hospitals.Healthcare professionals
Van Dijk et al 201235Mexico City, MexicoReview of medical charts (n=12) of maternal mortality occurring over a 3-year period.N/A.
Gutiérrez Vázquez et al 201636Mexico City, MexicoTimes series design (n=not reported); 10% of public census data at three time points.N/A.

  • N/A, not available.