Mixed Methods in Promoting Contraceptive Decision-Making After Voluntary-Termination-of-Pregnancy

Sara Palma ^1,2* Ricardo São-João ^2,3 Mónica Antunes ^1,4 Helena Presado ⁵

• ¹ Higher School of Health of Santarém, Polytechnic Institute of Santarém, Santarém, Portugal
• ² Polytechnic Institute of Santarém, Santarém, Santarem, Portugal
• ³ Instituto Superior de Gestão e Administração de Santarém, Santarém, Portugal
• ⁴ University of Evora, Évora, Portugal
• ⁵ Unidade de Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Enfermagem, Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal

Contraception aims to protect women from unplanned and unwanted pregnancies. The number of voluntary-terminations-of-pregnancy is an indicator that highlights issues such as difficulty accessing health services and women's lack of knowledge about contraceptives. These factors complicate choosing, adhering to, continuing, and achieving satisfaction with a contraceptive method. Mixed studies have gained prominence in health research with significant implications for care quality, particularly in nursing. Objectives: Analyze the applicability of mixed-method research in promoting contraceptive decision-making for women undergoing voluntary termination of pregnancy. Methods: A theoretical-reflective essay based on a theoretical framework guiding reflections on mixed research. This reflection explores the basic theoretical constructs of mixed methods and their applicability in promoting contraceptive decision-making for women in the process of voluntary pregnancy termination. Results: Categories emerging from qualitative study participants' statements were consolidated with quantitative data from women's responses to questionnaires. Integrating these two data types facilitated a robust analysis, discussion, and inference of results, leading to proposals for future interventions. Conclusions: Due to the advantages of the multimethod approach, we aim to disseminate its use in health research, demonstrating that combining quantitative and qualitative approaches provides greater insights into research phenomena and problems compared to using each method in isolation. This ultimately enhances care quality and contributes to scientific knowledge development.