- According to the most recent data from the World Bank 1, the average number of people using the Internet in Latin America and the Caribbean is 76%.
- People seek reproductive health information on the Internet because it is accessible, free of stigma or social judgment, and guarantees anonymity and confidentiality.
- TheTechnological Innovation in Communication to Facilitate Access to Safe Abortion is an Ipas LAC initiative to bring evidence-based information to women and pregnant women in Latin America and the Caribbean.is an Ipas LAC initiative to bring evidence-based information to women and people with the capacity to conceive in Latin America and the Caribbean.
As part of the International Day of Action for Women’s Health, Ipas LAC emphasizes the benefits of providing evidence-based health information through technological innovations and communication, as these represent multiple benefits to bring truthful information, without stigma or social criminalization. To this end, we have a series of virtual resources that, in addition to defending the reproductive rights of women and people with gestational capacity, facilitate their access to clear and appropriate information for the context of each country.
In the 2022 revision of the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines on Self-Care Interventions for Health and Wellness, WHO highlights three good practices in digital health:
- The promotion of self-care information.
2. Offering telemedicine as a support to complement face-to-face health services.
3. Digital communication by health professionals about the use of self-care interventions.
It has also been observed that the integration of information and communication technologies in health care contributes to:
- Bringing people closer to health services.
– Reduce and, in some cases, eliminate physical (such as face-to-face access to health services) and immaterial (such as stigma, discrimination, judgment and social criminalization) barriers to access.
– Increase care to prevent and treat diseases.
– To increase the levels of trust and acceptability of the population towards health services.
At Ipas LAC, we recognize that the use of technology allows us to get closer to the population and, thus, facilitates the detection of risk factors for complications and avoids unnecessary travel; but, above all, it strengthens the knowledge and updating of information for health professionals.
Technological innovation in communication to facilitate access to safe abortion
Results from an Ipas LAC investigation, based on interviews with women ages 18 to 35 from four regions of the state of Oaxaca: Mixteca, Valles Centrales, Istmo and Costa, between October 25 and November 25, 2021; revealed that the internet is considered an essential tool for seeking information about pregnancy termination, due to the fact that: it is an essential tool for seeking information about pregnancy termination.because:
- It is easy to access, decreases the possibility of receiving any type of judgment or stigma, and guarantees anonymity and confidentiality.
– Clients go to the nearest unit and there receive high specialty care through a video call with health specialists and also access to medicines.
– Health promoters become connection carriers who, by visiting communities with scheduled appointments, remotely link to the specialists who will provide medical care from their desks.
– Health specialists on the phone send educational materials via WhatsApp to guide the management or self-management process; they also exchange documentation.
This study also highlighted the use of the Internet as a source of anonymous and confidential information about pregnancy termination:
“Google has always been my greatest tool and I can put there how to have an abortion or what can be done to have an abortion and see all the information that comes up there and make a summary to make a decision from all the information that comes up,” a woman from Valles Centrales.
“I left aside the paper -sheets- because in any carelessness someone finds it, and they always judge you and if you have already made the decision, you enter into conflict; with so much taboo, you don’t want them to find something like that,” a woman from Valles Centrales.
Currently, Ipas LAC’s various technological innovation platforms for women and people of reproductive age with gestational capacity are as follows:
It offers information in Spanish about safe abortion, contraception and prevention of unplanned or unwanted pregnancies. In addition, it offers the possibility of contacting health professionals in two situations: 1) when the answers provided do not answer the specific question or 2) when the user seeks to be attended by a health professional.
Half of the people who access this tool choose to do so anonymously. Some of the testimonials left by users of the platform are:
“It took me more information than I expected. It attaches documents and shows explanatory videos. I liked finding research explained in a simple way. It gave me the feeling of being legitimate information,” woman who used the platform in Chile.
“They would recommend the Platform to a friend who needs information about safe abortion,” anonymous.
It contains legal and regulatory information on abortion in all countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, how to access a procedure in those countries and information on organizations that provide support from the territory.
It is an automated accompaniment website to facilitate the self-management of abortion. It contains digital tools that guide the medical abortion process in a safe and private way, strengthening the self-management of people who decide to terminate a pregnancy from their own home or safe space.
4. Safe Abortion with Misoprostol Video
It explains, step-by-step, the use of misoprostol to manage a safe pregnancy termination procedure up to 13 weeks gestation.
Provides automated conversations to expand access to safe abortion along major migration routes in Latin America and the Caribbean. The main topics of consultation are: sexual violence, safe abortion, and institutions and organizations that offer support.
This map shows pharmacies and points of sale of misoprostol in Mexico, a drug that is absolutely safe and authorized by the World Health Organization to terminate pregnancy.
7. State microsites on safe abortion in entities where it has been decriminalized.
Websites created to disseminate information about the legal framework for abortion in states where it is more permissible: Tlaxcala, Oaxaca, Baja California, Colima, Hidalgo and Veracruz. They contain information on the situations in which a legal abortion is available; safe methods to perform the procedure, including self-management and network accompaniment; as well as reference to clinics where the service can be requested.
The sections that are most visited are abortion methods and health units that provide Legal Termination of Pregnancy services in the entity.
- https://abortolegaltlaxcala.ipasmexico.org/
– https://abortol egaloaxaca.ipasmexico.org/
– – https://abortolegalbajacalifornia.ipasmexico.org/
– https://abortolegalcolima.ipasmexico.org/
– https://abortolegalhidalgo.ipasmexico.org/
– https://abortolegalveracruz.ipasmexico.org/
Ipas Lac also has a series of virtual resources aimed at health professionals, such as:
- The virtual classroom with a focus on human rights
2. ThePlatformfor health professionals
3. The TeleILE for public health services, created in collaboration with the Secretariat of Health of Mexico City.
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1 World Bank (2021). Individuals using the Internet (% of the population) – Latin America & Caribbean. https://datos.bancomundial.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?locations=ZJ&most_recent_year_desc=true&view=map
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If you would like to learn more about any of these resources, contact us to arrange an interview with our spokespersons.
Irene Vázquez Gudiño
Media Liaison Coordinator
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