Background: Nurses and midwives are on the frontline of sexual and reproductive health care and in many other health care settings where women faced with an unintended pregnancy may present. They can play a fundamental role in responding to unintended pregnancy, options counselling and abortion care and although ideally positioned to interact with women, they may not be well prepared to discuss these health matters. Little is known about the education around unplanned pregnancy, options counselling and abortion care provided in undergraduate nursing and midwifery training programs. The first phase of our study will examine whether and to what extent these topics are covered in nursing and midwifery text books used in three Queensland universities.
Methods: Quantitative and qualitative content analysis of unplanned pregnancy, options counselling and abortion care content in nurse and midwifery text books will be conducted using a textbook evaluation tool.
Results: in progress
Conclusion: Evidence-based content in nursing and midwifery education is crucial for the development of confident and competent practitioners comfortable with providing quality care to women with an unplanned pregnancy, including options counselling and abortion care. Examination of content in undergraduate nursing and midwifery texts is the first step in the development of recommendations for curricular reform and expansion. This study is particularly timely given the recent decriminalization of abortion in Queensland and upscaling of public sector abortion services
