Comparing the abortion rates in Britain and France
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Comparing the abortion rates in Great Britain and France - how can the differences be explained?
IRAS ID
132155
Contact name
Rachel Scott
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
London School of Hygeine and Tropical Medicine
Research summary
Abortion rates among young people are higher in Britain compared to in France. Young people in England and Wales are more likely to become pregnant than those in France, and are less likely to have an abortion if they do. This means that the under-20 conception rate in England and Wales is nearly twice that in France, and the abortion rate is about one and a half times as high because a smaller proportion of pregnancies are terminated. This PhD research aims to examine and describe the rates and trends over the last 30 years in Britain and France and to explain the differences in conception and abortion rates observed between the two countries, focusing on the role of socioeconomic factors.
Routine data on abortion notifications will be obtained for England and Wales from the Department of Health. Abortion notification data with equivalent variables have also been obtained from France. The data will be used to compare rates and trends in England and Wales and France over the last thirty years, and to examine the distribution of the factors collected through the abortion notifications in both countries. The analysis will focus in particular on geographic residence, which will be used as a proxy for area level disadvantage using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD).
The project will also make use of two large surveys, the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal) in Britain and the Fécondité-Contraception (Fecond) survey in France. These will enable analysis of individual and area level factors associated with conception and abortion among young people, and in conjunction with the routine data, will also enable the extent of under-reporting in the surveys to be assessed.
REC name
London - Harrow Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/1275
Date of REC Opinion
17 Sep 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion