Key Predictor of Accessibility to Abortion Services of Unmarried Young Women in China

Rongrong Yang, Beijing Normal University
Xiaoying Zheng, Peking University
Sanjun Chen, Peking University
Donghua Tian, Beijing Normal University
Gong Chen, Peking University

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the key factors predicting admission of unmarried young women to medical facilities for abortion services in China. Methods: The National Survey on Sexual and Reproductive Health for Unmarried Youth (15-24 years) was conducted in 2009 in China. Of the female respondents (n=10,970), 270 reported needing abortion services in 2009. Classification by random forest was applied to select the most important of 34 variables. Results: Among the 270 unmarried young women who were in need of abortion services, 165 were admitted to medical facilities, and 105 were not. Psychosocial competence ranked highest and was verified as most important of nine perspectives in predicting admission to medical facilities for abortion services (accuracy rate 89.2%, sensitivity 90.2%, and specificity 86.2%). Conclusions: Psychosocial competence stands out as an important component of the utilization of abortion services among unmarried young women.