Study Comparing Telemedicine Contraceptive Counseling TECC and Standard In-Person Care for Women Seeking Abortion

What this Trial Is About

This research project is focused on improving access to and use of contraception after abortion by developing and testing a new telemedicine service for contraceptive counseling called TECC. The study involves both a pilot phase and a multicenter randomized controlled trial conducted in South Africa and Kenya. The goals include designing a user-friendly online counseling service, comparing the uptake of long-acting reversible contraception LARC after telemedicine counseling versus in-person counseling, and evaluating satisfaction, preference, and outcomes such as recurrent unintended pregnancy and abortion. The pilot study involves 30 women seeking abortion who will test the TECC service while waiting for their abortion consultation, followed by surveys and in-depth interviews to assess acceptability. The randomized controlled trial will include 510 women who will be randomly assigned to either the TECC telemedicine counseling or standard in-person contraceptive counseling by a nurse. Follow-up assessments occur at 12 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months to measure uptake and continuation of LARC or other contraceptives, satisfaction, decision-making, and pregnancy outcomes. Participants will be involved in surveys, interviews, and follow-ups through online tools and phone calls. The main outcome is the use of LARC at 12 weeks, with additional measures including method choice, satisfaction, agency in decision making, and rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion up to 12 months. The study uses validated scales and mixed methods to fully understand the effectiveness and acceptability of the telemedicine counseling approach.

Telemedicine Contraceptive Counselling (TECC) Versus Standard Care