The publication “State and local health department activities related to abortion: A website content analysis,” published in the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, is the first study to systematically examine the range of abortion-related activities in which health departments are engaged. Using an established and accepted public health services framework, we analyzed the websites of 50 state and 117 large local health departments in the U.S. to evaluate state and local activities related to abortion.
We found that state and local health departments are involved in varied activities related to abortion. However, for most health departments this involvement largely reflects what the law requires and not the full range of core public health activities around abortion. This study raises important questions about the role of public health agencies and professionals in defining how health departments should be engaging with abortion.
Learn more about our findings on the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice website.