States with abortion restrictions had a greater number of internet searches containing keywords related to self-managed abortions compared with states without restrictions, according to a research letter published in JAMA Surgery.
“Data suggest that there may be an increased number of emergency department-related visits for self-managed abortions in states where abortion has become illegal,” Sean D. Young, PhD, a co-author of the research, told Healio. “Emergency providers/staff and/or policymakers might begin to monitor internet search data to gain a pulse on potential emergency resources and needs resulting from self-managed abortions.”
Data were derived from Kelani Z, et al. JAMA Surg. 2023;doi:10.1001/jamasurgery.2023.
From June 24, 2022 — when Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court — to Sept. 8, 2022, researchers collected Google Trends data on internet searches containing keywords related to self-managed abortions, including how to miscarry, how to do an abortion, where to get an abortion, how to get rid of a pregnancy and abortion clinics nearby. They analyzed nine searches. These were compared with four control phrases: how to take Tylenol, how to lower blood pressure, how to alleviate a headache and primary care doctors nearby. Internet search results were also compared with abortion legality data obtained in August 2022.
States where abortion was legal had a greater number of internet searches for abortion-related phrases overall. However, states where abortion was illegal had a greater number of internet searches for how to end a pregnancy (72.72 vs. 44.76; P < .001) compared with states where abortion was legal.
There were no differences in internet searches for the control phrases across states where abortion was legal vs. illegal.
According to the researchers, these findings suggest that internet and social media can and should be explored for integration into public health surveillance efforts, and public health and emergency providers should prepare for potential increased rates of unsafe abortion methods and related ED visits in states where abortion is illegal.
“More research is needed to determine the accuracy of this approach, whether the trend in searches for self-managed abortions continues, and whether and how this type of approach might be incorporated into public health and emergency surveillance efforts,” Young said.
For more information:
Sean D. Young, PhD, can be reached at syoung5@hs.uci.edu.
