The SACHA (Shaping Abortion for Change) Study

26 November 2021

Significant changes are occurring in the landscape of abortion provision and the SACHA (Shaping Abortion for Change) Study, funded by the National Institute for Health Research, is the largest research project on abortion to be carried out to date in the UK aiming to create an evidence base to guide new directions in abortion care.

The study will collate and synthesise existing research findings on novel models of care, draw lessons from countries spearheading reforms in abortion provision, and consult women, practitioners, and key stakeholders on approaches likely to be most feasible and acceptable in the UK context. There are five interlinked work packages that include:

  • Reviews of existing evidence on novel models of abortion care that are being tried and tested;
  • Case studies capturing the experience of abortion provision reforms in Australia, Canada, and Sweden, and transferrable lessons to be learnt for the UK;
  • A survey of health care practitioners such as general practitioners, midwives, nurses and pharmacists, to assess the potential for extending their role in abortion provision;
  • In-depth interviews with women with recent experience of abortion to find out how best abortion services might be organised to meet their needs and preferences for different models of care;
  • Round table discussion groups with key stakeholders to examine which innovations in abortion care would be most likely to work in the UK.

The proposed decriminalisation and demedicalisation of abortion will have significant implications for all methods of delivery and care, and for health care practitioners’ roles in administering and supporting abortion procedures. The study team will be contacting health professionals with a questionnaire to complete over the next few months.

The SACHA study has received favourable ethical opinion from the NHS Health Research Authority, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), MSI Reproductive Choices and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS).

Further information is available at the study website: https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/research/centres-projects-groups/sacha