Abstract
INTRODUCTION:Despite the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists recommendations, many medical students are not taught to counsel patients on their reproductive health options. Since 2013, medical students at the University of Miami, under faculty guidance, implemented a curriculum for volunteers who wish to help women in South Florida access long-acting reversible contraception and abortion services.
METHODS:Students in their third- and fourth-year designed a training program. Second-year students who had undergone the training and had at least one year of experience as a Reproductive Health Advocate (RHA) led the program. The learning objectives were to train new RHAs in contraception, pregnancy termination, patient counseling, laws and finances. Pre- and post-training surveys assessed knowledge, attitudes, and barriers regarding reproductive health.
RESULTS:Over the past six years, eighty-seven students with an average age of 24 years completed pre-training and post-training surveys. The cohort includes five males, eighty females and two declined to identify gender. Reproductive health knowledge scores improved with a pre-training average score of 58.6% and a post-training score of 83.2%, P<.008. Attitudes towards abortion also changed. Before training, 53% of students “strongly agreed” that abortion is safe; after training 86% “strongly agreed.” Prior to training, only 41% of the students strongly agreed that “abortion access is a problem in the hospital I train.” Post-training assessments showed that 63% of students strongly agreed.
CONCLUSION:Student-run training improved medical studentsʼ understanding of reproductive health and barriers accessing care. To determine generalizability, future studies should replicate this training at different institutions.