Self-reports of induced abortion: An empathetic setting can improve the quality of data

Objectives. This study estimated the proportion of incomplete abortions tha t are induced in hospital-based settings in Tanzania. Methods. A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted in 2 phases at 3 hospitals in Tanzania. Phase 1 included 302 patients with a diagnosis of incomplete abortion, and phase 2 included 823 such patients. Results. In phase 1, in which cases were classified by clinical criteria an d information from the patient, 3.9% to 16.1% of the cases were classified as induced abortion. In phase 2, in which the structured interview was chan ged to an empathetic dialogue and previously used clinical criteria were om itted 30.9% to 60.0% of the cases were classified as induced abortion. Conclusions. An empathetic dialogue improves the quality of data collected among women with induced abortion.