Comparing the Awareness of First Year and Senior Undergraduate Students of Midwifery in Mashhad Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery About the Legal Aspects of Abortion

Fertility is highly valued in most cultures. Childlessness happens for various reasons one of which is abortion. Considering the extent of health care workers’ awareness of patients’ access to abortion, this study was conducted with the aim of determining and comparing the levels of awareness between first year and senior undergraduate students of midwifery in Mashhad Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery regarding the legal aspects of abortion.

In this descriptive-comparative research, there were 82 first year and senior undergraduate students of midwifery in the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences who were selected by census method. The data collection tool was a questionnaire created by the researchers to assess the level of awareness regarding the legal aspects of abortion, the validity and reliability of which was confirmed. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 16.

The average awareness score of the first year and senior students of midwifery regarding the permitted cases of abortion is 5.88±2.75 versus 9.03±1.51 respectively (P=0.001). Regarding the punishment of unlawful abortion and the conditions for issuing a legal license for therapeutic abortion, their awareness scores were 3.47±1.48 versus 5.54±1.33 respectively, P=0.0001). Accordingly, there was a statistically significant difference between the level of awareness of the first year and senior students of midwifery about the legal aspects of abortion and the correct response rate was higher for the senior students.

The results of the present study show an insufficient level of awareness among midwifery students regarding abortion laws, such as the indications for legal abortion, the necessary conditions for issuing a license for legal abortion, and the penalties for illegal abortion. Therefore, the researchers suggest that the authorities consider training programs for midwifery students in order to raise their levels of awareness about the lawful and legal abortion.