Determinants of coping startegies utilised by women who may have experienced an abortion

Abstract

Mental health problems and ineffective coping in women who have experienced an abortion are common and require specialist care with increased health resource utilization. However, there seems to be paucity of information in Zambia on how women cope psychologically after an abortion. Therefore the study explored determinants for coping strategies utilised by women who had experienced an abortion in Zambia.Methods.Determinants of coping strategies utilised by women who have experienced an abortion were explored. The study was conducted in Chinsali, Ikelenge, Lusaka and Siavonga Districts with a sample of 200 respondents. Interviews were conducted using semi-structured interview schedules. Two hundred participants were selected using simple random probability sampling methods. Data was entered and analysed using SPSS version 20. Several determinants for coping with an abortion were identified such as education level, staff attitude, stigma, stress and recurrent abortions. The study was guided by the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping based on the work of Lazarous and Folkman. Results. Out of the above mentioned determinants, only stress was found to have a significant association with coping with the experience of an abortion. Stress was measured by the extent to which the experience of an abortion disturbed normal daily activities.The results indicated that there was a relationship between stress and coping as confirmed by the p-value 0.00 and chi square 18.86. Respondents whose daily activities were grossly affected due to stress did not cope well.ConclusionIt was concluded that there was a relationship between stress and coping. However, the other independent variables did not show any relationship with coping.It was therefore recommended that mental health services be incorporated in reproductive health services at various levels of health care in order to manage stress among women who experienced an abortion to enhance coping well.