JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

State abortion laws have been in flux since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. Therefore, it is important to anticipate how the future physician workforce will navigate abortion-related care. Osteopathic medical students are understudied despite comprising a growing share of the healthcare workforce in the United States.

Objective:

To measure personal abortion-related values among osteopathic medical students at a Western U.S. College of Osteopathic Medicine and evaluate the impact of these values on their perceptions of future clinical decision-making across diverse clinical scenarios.

Methods:

A cross-sectional, anonymous survey was distributed to all osteopathic medical students (N=1,285) from September – November 2022. Measures included demographics, a 6-point abortion attitudes “spectrum score”, and responses to standardized first- and second-trimester abortion clinical scenarios. Analyses included descriptive statistics, chi-square, and multivariable ordinal logistic regression.

Results:

Of the 1,285 eligible students, 247 responded (19.2%). The majority were female (56.5%), Democrat (46.9%), and religious (49.2%). Most students expressed supportive stances on abortion and chose to “provide” the abortion in 65% of first trimester and 59% of second-trimester scenarios. Spectrum scores were strongly associated with gender, political affiliation, and religiosity (all P <.001). Students with moderate spectrum scores showed the greatest uncertainty, particularly in second-trimester cases.

Conclusions:

Medical students may be approaching abortion-related care through a patient-centered lens rather than through a religious or political framework. Medical education across the U.S. must provide case-based abortion-related education sufficient to build students’ clinical decision-making confidence.