Social awareness on Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy: A cross-section study

Journal title SALUTE E SOCIETÀ
Author/s Maria Ferrara, Elisa Langiano, Emilio Greco, Simone De Sio, Anna Vecchiarini, Maurizio Esposito, Elisabetta De Vito
Publishing Year 2017 Issue 2017/1
Language Italian Pages 13 P. 170-182 File size 693 KB
DOI 10.3280/SES2017-001013
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

The objective of this research is to assess the social awareness of Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy (VTP) in order to develop adequate information and training programmes. An observational study was carried out on a sample of individuals aged between 14 and 68. In social-aggregation areas 800 questionnaires were distributed, prior to the assurance of anonymity. 90.5% of the individuals asked to participate, answered the questionnaire. 21.2% of the sample was not aware of the existence of guidance centre in the Local Health Authorities and 25.7% of the Law that regulates VTP. Less than half of the interviewees (42.3%) considered VTP as an admissible choice in special circumstances, 11% consider it as a means of prevention of unwanted pregnancy and 55.35% do not know that a minor can have an abortion without the consent of her parents. 41.7% of the women interviewed would resort to VTP, while 12.2% have already resorted to it. The inclination to perform VTP has been drastically associated mainly with not being in a stable relationship, age, or being an atheist.

Keywords: VTP; social risk factors; social awareness; public health; sociology of health; health determinants

  1. Amato M. (2007). Come vincere la depressione durante e dopo il parto. Roma: Sovera Edizioni.
  2. Bajos N., Leridon H., Goulard H., Oustry P., Job-Spira N. and The COCON Group (2003). Contraception: from accessibility to efficiency. Human Reproduction, 18 (5): 994-999.
  3. Capodilupo A., Albertoni F. (2004). Analisi dei fattori di rischio sociale di abortività in donne residenti nell’ASL di Latina, per la promozione di interventi informativi anticoncezionali. Difesa Sociale, 2: 19-28. Roma: Istituto Italiano di Medicina Sociale.
  4. Del Rey Calero J. (2005). The social problem of pregnancy in teenagers. Anales de la Real Academia Nacional de Medicina (Madrid), 122:149-65.
  5. Della Vedova A.M. (2009). Emozioni e gravidanza: effetti dello stress materno sul benessere fetale. In: Cristini C., Ghiraldi A., a cura di, Sentire e pensare. Milano: Spinger: 3-15.
  6. Donati S., Andreozzi S., Medda E., Grandolfo M.E. (2000). Salute riproduttiva tra gli adolescenti: conoscenze attitudini e comportamenti. ISTISAN Reports 00/07 Rome: Upper Institute of Health. PDF --version available at http://www.iss.it/binary/publ/publi/0007.1109841544.pdf
  7. Ferrara M., De Vito E., Langiano E. Gentile A., Ricciardi G. (2006). Da Eros a Thanatos, AIDS e malattie a trasmissione sessuale. Valutazione dell’efficacia di un intervento educativo in tema di Aids e MST in un campione di studenti delle Scuole Superiori di Cassino. ISTISAN Reports; 20: 125-129. Rome: Upper Institute of Health.
  8. Ferrara M., Langiano E., Di Thiene D., De Vito E. (2010). The project “D.E.A.Th. by Eros to Thanatos AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases”. A multimedia exhibition as a means of prevention of sexually transmitted infections. Italian Journal of Public Health, 7: 268-276.
  9. Ferrara M., Mercone B., Nardone V., Gentile A., Langiano E., De Vito E. (2010). Indagine conoscitiva sui livelli di informazione e percezione del rischio sull’AIDS e infezioni da HIV negli studenti dell’Università degli Studi di Cassino. Difesa Sociale, 4: 103-107. Roma: Istituto Italiano di Medicina Sociale.
  10. Fisher W.A., Singh S.S., Super P.A., Carey M., Otchet F., MacLean-Brine D., Dal Bello D., Gunter J. (2005). Characteristics of women undergoing repeat induced abortion. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 172(5): 637-41.
  11. Gillespie D. (2004). Making abortion rare and safe. Lancet, 363(9402): 74. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(03)15179-
  12. Grandolfo M.E., Spinelli A. (2006). Interruzione volontaria di gravidanza in Italia: epidemiologia. In: Di Rienzo G.C., Ginecologia e Ostetricia, vol.1: 1011-1016. Roma: Verduci Editore
  13. Grandolfo M.E., Spinelli A., Donati S., Pediconi M., Timperi F., Stasi M.A., Andreozzi S., Greco V., Medda E., Luria L. (1991). Epidemiologia dell’interruzione volontaria di gravidanza in Italia e possibilità di prevenzione. Reports ISTISAN 91/25. Rome: Upper Health Institute.
  14. Greco E. (2016). Sociologia della Salute. Prevenzione sociale e sanitaria delle malattie. Soveria Mannelli: Rubbettino Editore.
  15. Jones R.K., Darroch J.E., Henshaw S.K. (2002). Contraceptive use among U.S. women having abortions in 2000-2001. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 34(6): 294-303. DOI: 10.1363/342940
  16. La Torre G., Unim B., Miccoli S., Langiano E., Ferrara M., De Vito E. (2012). Changes in knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of Italian university students regarding contraceptive methods and STDs (1998–2008): a cross-sectional study. Journal of Public Health, 15: 1-7. DOI 10.1007/s10389-012-0519-6
  17. Langiano E., Ferrara M., Calenda M.G., Martufi L., De Vito E. (2012). An Experience in the Prevention of HPV by and for Adolescents: A Community Randomized Trial of the Effect of Peer Health Education on Primary Prevention in a 1-Year Follow Up. Creative Education, 3: 1138-1149.
  18. Law n. 184 dated 22nd May 1978, Norms for the social protection of maternity and voluntary termination of pregnancy (Published in the Official Journal n. 140 of 22nd May 1978)
  19. Lazdane G. (2005). Abortion in Europe: ten years after Cairo. Entre Nous. The European Magazine for Sexual and Reproductive Health, 59: 4-6.
  20. Ministry of Health, 2013 Report issued by the Ministry of Health on Implementation of the Law containing Norms for Social Protection of Maternity and Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy (Law 194/78)
  21. World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (2002). WHO Regional Strategy on Sexual and Reproductive Health, available at: www.euro.who.int/reproductive-health

Maria Ferrara, Elisa Langiano, Emilio Greco, Simone De Sio, Anna Vecchiarini, Maurizio Esposito, Elisabetta De Vito, Social awareness on Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy: A cross-section study in "SALUTE E SOCIETÀ" 1/2017, pp 170-182, DOI: 10.3280/SES2017-001013