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Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance

Date Submitted: May 6, 2025
Date Accepted: May 19, 2026

The final, peer-reviewed published version of this preprint can be found here:

Investigating the Impact of Online Abortion Myths on Health Care Providers and Advocates: Interview Study

Moran R, Simoes J, Agajanian T, Grasso I, Beers A, Swarr A, Spiro E, Swan A

Investigating the Impact of Online Abortion Myths on Health Care Providers and Advocates: Interview Study

JMIR Public Health Surveill 2026;12:e77050

DOI: 10.2196/77050

PMID: 42748039

Investigating the Impact of Online Abortion Myths on Healthcare Providers and Advocates: an Interview Study

  • Rachel Moran; 
  • Julia Simoes; 
  • Taylor Agajanian; 
  • Izzi Grasso; 
  • Anna Beers; 
  • Amanda Swarr; 
  • Emma Spiro; 
  • Anna Swan

ABSTRACT

Abortion is a common and safe medical procedure with a long history of practice within the U.S. Yet, inaccurate and misleading information around abortion persists, including falsehoods about the accessibility, legality and lived experience of abortion related healthcare (Patev & Hood, 2021). The prevalence of inaccuracies has been exacerbated by the overturning of Roe v. Wade in May 2022 (Harris, 2022). Little academic research exists examining how abortion myths impact the everyday work of abortion healthcare providers and advocates, particularly related to models of patient-practitioner shared decision making (SDM). Using in-depth qualitative interviews with abortion healthcare professionals we document the types of abortion myths healthcare professionals encounter, how they navigate myths when they arise within patient interactions and the impacts of myths on abortion healthcare and shared decision making.


 Citation

Please cite as:

Moran R, Simoes J, Agajanian T, Grasso I, Beers A, Swarr A, Spiro E, Swan A

Investigating the Impact of Online Abortion Myths on Health Care Providers and Advocates: Interview Study

JMIR Public Health Surveill 2026;12:e77050

DOI: 10.2196/77050

PMID: 42748039

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