Data from: Knowledge, provision of information and barriers to high quality medication abortion provision by pharmacists in Uttar Pradesh, India

Background: Almost three quarters of the 16 millions abortions in India
were medication abortion (MA) purchased outside of facilities. Past
research has shown low quality of care given to clients seeking MA from
pharmacists in this setting. Most purchasers of MA from
pharmacies in India are men, further complicating the pathway to high
quality information for women taking MA. Developing interventions that can
improve the information and quality of interactions for
women obtaining MA through this channel is critical.  Objectives:
The objective of this study was to measure the impact of an
informational pamphlet given to pharmacists providing
medication abortion on provider knowledge and behaviors The study was
conducted in three districts of Uttar Pradesh India in
and around Lucknow in 2018.   Study Design: Pre
intervention surveys were conducted with 283 pharmacists about
knowledge and practices around MA. Half of the pharmacists were then
provided with a 2 page informational and pictorial pamphlet. About 6
months after the baseline survey, pharmacists were again asked to complete
a similar survey. At the time of recruitment, pharmacists were asked to
provide consent for a mystery client to visit their shop in the next 6
months. About 3-4 months after the baseline, 1 of 4 mystery client
profiles visited 111 pharmacists (both intervention and
control). Mystery clients presented as 4 profiles (unmarried
woman, unmarried man, married woman and married man) purchasing MA.
Findings: Pharmacists had overall low knowledge about
dosing, timing, side effects and complications for MA. The intervention
improved pharmacists knowledge of a variety of quality indicators, but did
not change their self reported practices or behaviors (Mystery client
data). Pharmacists provided lower quality information to mystery clients
presenting as women (compared to men), especially young, unmarried
women.  Conclusions: Intervening to change behaviors among
pharmacists is challenging and must address both knowledge but also
behavior change, including stigma and biases.