Healthcare professionals’ experiences of working with abortion care in Ghana : A qualitative study about saving lives

Sammanfattning: Background: Abortion continues to be stigmatized in Ghana even though Ghana has one of the most liberal abortion laws in West Africa. This stigmatization discourages women from having safe abortion and discourages the health care professionals to provide services for abortion. The recruitment of healthcare providers is therefore marginalized, isolated and difficult. Aim: The aim of the study is to describe the healthcare professionals’ experiences of working with the abortion care in Ghana. Method: Five qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals working at two different governmentally owned hospitals in Ghana. The findings were analysed with qualitative content analysis. Results: Four main themes emerged in this study describing healthcare professionals’ experiences of working with abortion care in Ghana; Context, Nursing care, Challenges and Saving lives. The healthcare professionals work is stigmatized and challenging but the best part of their profession was helping adolescents, families and saving lives. Conclusion: To save lives, enhance the working situation for the healthcare professionals and to reduce stigma, education and better working environment is necessary.