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Table 1 Characteristics of included studies

From: The impact of mandatory waiting periods on abortion-related outcomes: a synthesis of legal and health evidence

Author/year

Country

Methods

Participants/data

Coles 2010 [9]

United States of America

Retrospective cohort study (n = 8245) using data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System.

Self-reported data reported by women giving birth across 30 states over a 6-year period.

Colman 2010 [10]

Texas, United States of America

Time series design (n = 16,029).

State level data on abortions occurring over a 7-year period.

Cooney 2017 [11]

United States of America

Cross sectional study (n = 286).

Genetic counsellors with prenatal experiences with a mean of 8.7 years’ experience.

Dennis 2014 [12]

Oklahoma, Arizona and Kansas, United States of America

Qualitative individual interviews (n = 30).

Women with experiences of abortion in three states.

Ely 2019 [13]

Tennessee, United States of America

Cross sectional study (n = 422).

Women seeking abortion services in the state from one abortion provider.

Ehrenreich 2019a1 [14]

Utah, United States of America

Qualitative individual interviews (n = 18).

Women aged 18–40 years using telemedicine to attend state-mandated information visits.

Ehrenreich 2019b1 [15]

Utah, United States of America

Qualitative individual interviews (n = 20).

Women accessing abortion services, some of who opted for an information visit by telemedicine.

Fuentes 2019 [16]

United States of America

Cross sectional study (n = 11,024) using the Abortion Patient Survey, 2014.

Women obtaining an abortion at 87 healthcare facilities.

Jerman 20171 [17]

Michigan and. New Mexico, United States of America

Qualitative individual interviews (n = 29).

Women aged 18–44 seeking abortion services at 6 facilities who had travelled across state lines or more than 100 miles within a state.

Jones 2013 [18]

United States of America

Cross sectional study (n = 8338) using data from the Abortion Patient Survey, 2008.

Women obtaining abortions at 95 facilities in 34 different states.

Jones 2016 [19]

United States of America

Cross sectional study (n = 7414) using the Abortion Patient Survey, 2014.

Women obtaining an abortion at 87 “non-hospital” healthcare facilities.

Jones 2017 [20]

v

Cross sectional study (n = 8380) using the Abortion Patient Survey, 2014.

Women obtaining an abortion at 87 “non-hospital” healthcare facilities

Karasek 2016 [21]

Arizona, United States of America

Cross sectional study (n = 379).

Women aged 18–45 obtaining an abortion at one healthcare facility.

Medoff 2010a [22]

United States of America

Time series design (n = not reported).

Multiple data sources: Data on non-marital birth-rates from Centers for Disease Control; economic data from the US Census of Population, 2003.

Medoff 2010b [23]

United States of America

Time series design (n = not reported).

Multiple data sources: abortion data from Guttmacher Institute; socio-economic data from the US Bureau of the Census and the Statistical Abstract of the United States.

Medoff 2012 [24]

United States of America

Time series design (n = not reported).

Multiple data sources: abortion data from the Guttmacher Institute; socio-economic data from State Reports of the U. S Census Bureau.

Medoff 2014a [25]

United States of America

Time series design (n = not reported).

Multiple data sources: abortion data from Centers for Disease Control and Guttmacher Institute; socio-economic data from Statistical Abstract of the Unites States.

Medoff 2014b [26]

United States of America

Time series design (n = not reported).

Multiple data sources: data on pregnancy intentions from Centers for Disease Control; data on births from the US Vital Statistics Report.

Medoff 2014c [27]

United States of America

Time series design (n = not reported).

Multiple data sources: data on unintended pregnancy from a previous publication; abortion data from the Guttmacher Institute.

Medoff 2015 [28]

United States of America

Time series design (n = not reported).

Multiple data sources: abortion data from the Guttmacher Institute; data on number of healthcare providers from the US Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States.

Medoff 2016 [29]

United States of America

Time series design (n = not reported).

Abortion data from Guttmacher Institute; data on unintended births from a previous publication.

Mercier 20151 [30]

North Carolina, United States of America

Qualitative individual interviews (n = 31).

Abortion providers (physicians, nurses, physician assistant, counselor and clinic administrators) working under the Women’s Right to Know Act (WRKA) with previous experience of working in a less restrictive environment.

Morse 20182 [31]

North Carolina, United States of America

Cross sectional study (n = 48).

Women seeking an abortion at one healthcare facility over a 16-week period, some before and some after the waiting period was changed from 24 to 72 hours.

Myers 2021 [42]

United States of America

Randomized control trial, different in differences and event study (Poisson model).

Data from various sources including CDC abortion surveillance data, Guttmacher Institute statistics, NCHS data on state-level birth counts, state level estimates from SEER.

Roberts 2016 [32]

Utah, United States of America

Prospective cohort study (n = 500).

Women presenting at an abortion information visit at one healthcare facility.

Roberts 2017 [33]

Utah, United States of America

Prospective cohort study (n = 500).

Women presenting at an abortion information visit at one healthcare facility.

Ruhr 2016 [34]

Missouri, United States of America

Mixed methods study (n = 139/52 completed follow up survey).

Women 18 years and older seeking an abortion for an unintended pregnancy.

Sanders 2016 [35]

Utah, United States of America

Cross sectional study (n = 3618 from database/307 completed questionnaire).

Abortion data from 11 clinics before and after the waiting period was changed from 24 h to 72 h. Women seeking abortion at a healthcare facility after the 72 h-law came into effect.

Sen 2012 [36]

United States of America

Time series design (n = 5100).

Data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for Health Statistics Multiple Cause of Death public-use data files, 1983–2002, on deaths among children 0–4 years old.

Tosh 2015 [37]

United States of America

Cross sectional study (n = not reported).

State level population data from 50 states.

Wallace 2017 [38]

United States of America

Cross sectional study (n = 3,948,761).

Data from multiple sources Data on live births in 2011 were obtained from The National Center for Health Statistics.

White 20161 [40]

Alabama, United States of America

Qualitative individual interviews (n = 25).

Women aged 19 years and above seeking abortion at two clinics after travelling more than 30 miles one way.

White 2017 [41]

Alabama, United States of America

Cross sectional study (n = 2730).

Billing data from two clinics for all abortions over a 12-month period.

Williams 2018 [39]

Arizona, United States of America

Time series design (n = 43,692).

Data from multiple sources including: Demographic and Health Survey data, before and after legislation of abortion restrictions came into effect