Aya—a digital tool co-designed with Venezuelan women to safely facilitate self-managed medication abortion and contraception access

Gill, R.; Tam, G.

Objectives: The ongoing complex humanitarian crisis in Venezuelahas disproportionately affected access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. Restrictive abortion laws lead to unsafe abortions and increased maternal mortality/morbidity. We sought to understand whether a digital tool that safely facilitates self-managed abortion and contraception access would be acceptable and feasible for Venezuelan women and their community. Our study aimed to: Understand how Venezuelan women access SRH information and services;Understand their preferences for design of a digital tool that will safely facilitate self-managed abortions and contraception access;Co-design a user-centered digital tool, Aya, that includes their preferences and experiences. Methods: This is a mixed-methods implementation research study with a focus on co-design with Venezuelan women, grassroots community-based organizations, healthcare providers, SRH advocates and program experts: Results: 30% of surveyed Venezuelan women had an abortion, half used unsafe methods. 83% own a smartphone, 77% have internet access. Qualitative interviews highlighted the impact of the humanitarian crisis and COVID-19 on access to SRH services, safe abortion, and contraceptive methods. Venezuelan women were supportive of a digital tool that would safely facilitate self-managed abortion and contraception access. Aya is being co-designed and will be ready for pilot testing in Spring 2021. Conclusions: We conducted user-centered research to understand the complexities around safe abortion care and contraception access in a humanitarian setting. We are co-designing Aya to ensure successful implementation, sustainability, and scalability within Venezuela.