{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,4]],"date-time":"2026-11-04T20:58:29Z","timestamp":1793825909330,"version":"4.6.1"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"BMJ","funder":[{"name":"Open Societal Challenges (OSC) ChallengeUS! Funding scheme","award":["Grant number: OSC No.82"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Grant number: OSC No.82"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Sex Reprod Health"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Most patients in Britain undergoing medical abortion under 10 weeks\u2019 gestation manage the entire process at home, with access to clinical support from qualified staff via telephone if needed. Artificial intelligence (AI) \u2018chatbots\u2019 are potential tools to support patients; however, little is known about patient views on their use in this regard.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We invited British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) patients who had a medical abortion under 10 weeks\u2019 gestation to participate in an online, English-language, cross-sectional questionnaire (August 2025\u2013October 2025). The questionnaire assessed demographics, self-reported likelihood of using a potential AI chatbot, perceived appealing features, reasons for hesitation and preferred features. Descriptive analysis, Chi-square statistics and p values were used to analyse responses. The desired sample size was 380.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Of the 4684 patients invited, 396 completed the questionnaire (8%). Overall, 22.4% self-reported as very likely to use an AI chatbot, 13.1% as likely, 20.8% as neutral, 17.5% as unlikely and 26.2% as very unlikely. Self-reported likelihood of use did not vary by demographics. Perceived appealing features included: 24-hour access (57.6%), reduced wait time (47%), anonymous care (25.7%) and access to reliable personalised information (17.2%). Reasons for hesitation included: misinformation (54.2%), preference for human interaction (51.9%), conversations that loop (42.2%), data privacy (40.4%) and lack of trust in AI (38.3%). Preferred features emphasised flexibility, customisation and ability to contact staff.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Respondents\u2019 views on a potential AI chatbot for medical abortion support were mixed, shaped by trust, reliability, flexibility and access to clinical staff. Such tools may be most acceptable as optional adjuncts within existing care pathways, requiring real-world evaluation.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjsrh-2026-203287","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,16]],"date-time":"2026-06-16T07:25:15Z","timestamp":1781594715000},"page":"bmjsrh-2026-203287","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["What is the potential for the introduction of an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot to support medical abortion at home? Findings from a patient survey in England and Wales"],"prefix":"10.1136","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-3145-9822","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chloe","family":"Hanse","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Reproductive Research & Communication, British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Koula","family":"Charitonos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Open University Institute of Educational Technology, Milton Keynes, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4786-7950","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lesley","family":"Hoggart","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health and Social Care, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kathryn","family":"Piper","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Reproductive Research & Communication, British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2651-9201","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carrie","family":"Purcell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies, The Open University, Edinburgh, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1862-5730","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Patricia A","family":"Lohr","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Reproductive Research & Communication, British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.1","unstructured":"Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) . Best practice in telemedicine for abortion care. RCOG; 2022. Available: https:\/\/www.rcog.org.uk\/media\/f32nniuk\/abortion-care-telemedicine-best-practice-paper-2022.pdf [accessed 28 Jan 2028]"},{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.2","unstructured":"Department of Health and Social Care . Abortion statistics commentary, England and Wales: 2023. GOV.UK; 2026. Available: https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/statistics\/abortion-statistics-for-england-and-wales-2023\/abortion-statistics-commentary-england-and-wales-2023 [Accessed 28 Jan 2026]."},{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1177\/20552076241288717","article-title":"Patient and health professional attitudes towards the use of telemedicine for abortion care in Britain: Findings from the SACHA study","volume":"10","author":"Meiksin","year":"2024","journal-title":"Digit Health"},{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1464","DOI":"10.1111\/1471-0528.16668","article-title":"Effectiveness, safety and acceptability of no-test medical abortion (termination of pregnancy) provided via telemedicine: a national cohort study","volume":"128","author":"Aiken","year":"2021","journal-title":"BJOG"},{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17455057241242675","DOI":"10.1177\/17455057241242675","article-title":"How can patient experience of abortion care be improved? Evidence from the SACHA study","volume":"20","author":"Lewandowska","year":"2024","journal-title":"Womens Health (Lond Engl)"},{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"855","DOI":"10.1080\/13691058.2023.2258189","article-title":"Social connectedness and supported self-management of early medication abortion in the UK: experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic and learning for the future","volume":"26","author":"Hoggart","year":"2024","journal-title":"Cult Health Sex"},{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.2196\/56930","article-title":"Roles, Users, Benefits, and Limitations of Chatbots in Health Care: Rapid Review","volume":"26","author":"Laymouna","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Med Internet Res"},{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2248742","DOI":"10.1080\/26410397.2023.2248742","article-title":"Emotional, informational, and decision-making support needs among people seeking abortion in the US: perspectives from All-Options Talkline callers","volume":"31","author":"Seymour","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sex Reprod Health Matters"},{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pdig.0000277","article-title":"There\u2019s an App for it: A systematic review of mobile apps providing information about abortion using a revised MARS scale","volume":"2","author":"Stifani","year":"2023","journal-title":"PLOS Digit Health"},{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.10","first-page":"38318564","article-title":"Assessing the Accuracy of Information on Medication Abortion: A Comparative Analysis of ChatGPT and Google Bard AI","volume":"149","author":"Mediboina","year":"2024","journal-title":"Artif Intell Med"},{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.3389\/fdgth.2024.1287186","article-title":"Automating untruths: ChatGPT, self-managed medication abortion, and the threat of misinformation in a post-Roe world","volume":"6","author":"McMahon","year":"2024","journal-title":"Front Digit Health"},{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1177\/20552076241308994","article-title":"Feasibility of using an artificially intelligent chatbot to increase access to information and sexual and reproductive health services","volume":"10","author":"Bull","year":"2024","journal-title":"Digit Health"},{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.3389\/fgwh.2024.1401779","article-title":"Aya Contigo: evaluation of a digital intervention to support self-managed medication abortion in Venezuela","volume":"5","author":"Cleverley","year":"2024","journal-title":"Front Glob Womens Health"},{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1080\/26410397.2023.2266305","article-title":"Lessons learned from developing and implementing digital health tools for self-managed abortion and sexual and reproductive healthcare in Canada, the United States, and Venezuela","volume":"31","author":"Luigi-Bravo","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sex Reprod Health Matters"},{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.15","unstructured":"National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) . Abortion care (NICE Guideline NG140). NICE; 2019. Available: https:\/\/www.nice.org.uk\/guidance\/ng140 [accessed 28 Jan 2026]"},{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.2196\/46761","article-title":"Chatbots to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health: Realist Synthesis","volume":"25","author":"Mills","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Med Internet Res"},{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Brennan K . Chatbots in sexual and reproductive health: bridging the divide in accessibility and equity. Contraception 2026;157. doi:10.1016\/j.contraception.2025.111199","DOI":"10.1016\/j.contraception.2025.111199"},{"key":"2026061600251044000_bmjsrh-2026-203287v1.18","article-title":"Methods to increase response to postal and electronic questionnaires","volume":"11","author":"Edwards","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst Rev"}],"container-title":["BMJ Sexual &amp; Reproductive Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.1136\/bmjsrh-2026-203287","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,16]],"date-time":"2026-06-16T07:25:21Z","timestamp":1781594721000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/jfprhc.bmj.com\/lookup\/doi\/10.1136\/bmjsrh-2026-203287"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,15]]},"references-count":18,"alternative-id":["10.1136\/bmjsrh-2026-203287"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bmjsrh-2026-203287","relation":{},"ISSN":["2515-1991","2515-2009"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2515-1991","type":"print"},{"value":"2515-2009","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,15]]}}}