Abortion Conceptualization and Education Within CEPH-Accredited Schools of Public Health
Open Access DepositedExceptionalism or Inclusion
Social Media Analysis included a Combined Content Analysis (CCA) of 347 original tweets that contained “abortion,” “Dobbs,” or “Roe” and were posted by SPHs or SPH Deans accounts between January 1, 2021 and March 9, 2023. Bivariate and multivariable associations were examined between selected school characteristics and tweeting at least once after Dobbs. A content analysis was conducted to systematically examine how SPHs framed abortion on social media. Phase 3
A Review of Digital Properties included a comprehensive review of SPH websites. Phase 2
Phase 1
Information Sharing (66%, n=228), Impact (46%, n=159), Events (29%, n=100), Mobilization (18%, n=64), and Framing (13%, n=45). The conceptual framework for stigma reduction within public health education examines how activities carried out by students, faculty, and leadership can contribute to destigmatization, which can improve public health workforce outcomes and population-level health outcomes. Conclusion
A myriad of research links abortion bans and restrictive abortion policies to increases in maternal death rates, perinatal deaths, and neonatal deaths. While the provision of abortion has a long history in the U.S., support for abortion access within public health is more complex. Statements from leading public health agencies have advocated for access
however, the literature indicates that abortion education within public health is understudied and undertaught, suggesting that abortion stigma within public health education is ongoing. Methodology
Introduction and Study Aim
This dissertation adds to the literature on abortion stigma in public health. Further research is needed to establish a validated tool for measuring abortion stigma in public health education, to examine whether the lack of engagement on abortion in the digital space is unique to abortion, and to validate the proposed conceptual framework. Collectively, this dissertation shows that moving from devaluation and stigmatization of abortion to integration and normalization of abortion as an essential component of public health may improve population-level health outcomes and as such, is critical for the future of public health.
yet, it is highly politicized. Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, statements and tweets from Schools of Public Health (SPHs) prompted reflection on whether public advocacy efforts translate to meaningful engagement on abortion within SPHs, and how such engagement might reduce abortion stigma and affect population-level health outcomes. This study aimed to explore, through Twitter content, how SPHs conceptualize abortion as a public health issue, and to develop a novel conceptual framework for abortion destigmatization within public health education. Background
Developing a Conceptual Framework included the development of a novel, multi-level conceptual framework for stigma reduction within public health education. Results
Abortion is one of the safest, most common procedures for people with uteruses in the U.S. and is a fundamental public health issue
Of the 60 SPHs that had Twitter accounts, 48.3% tweeted about abortion at least once during the study period. More SPH accounts from private universities tweeted than at public universities across all periods – pre-, day of, and post-Dobbs (p=0.003) and at SPHs in a state with no abortion ban when compared to SPHs in states with a ban, regardless of the ban’s gestational duration (p<.001). Among the tweets, five major themes emerged
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