Despite the persistent need for abortion care, women in rural communities face many obstacles when accessing needed care. Healthcare providers working in rural communities are critical allies to these women. But how do these clinicians perceive the need for reproductive healthcare services, including abortion care, in their communities?

State organizers in Maine, Colorado, Iowa, West Virginia, and Wyoming set out to answer this question. Using survey research methods, they connected with rural clinicians to learn more about the range of services offered by rural clinicians and the level of interest in training in and provision of abortion care. The information they collected was recently presented at the National Abortion Federation's Annual Meeting, revealing new findings on reported patient travel to obtain reproductive healthcare and clinician interest in additional training. Learn more about the survey findings here.

Abortion training opportunities can be difficult to access for both practicing and future clinicians and staff, especially those who operate as independent providers. At this year's Abortion Care Network Annual Conference, AAP facilitated an in-depth discussion on developing training relationships with independent abortion clinics. The Abortion Care Network is a non-profit, membership organization that represents the educational and networking needs of independent abortion providers across the country. "Independent clinics offer unique models of service delivery but often are overlooked by those searching for training opportunities," notes Deborah VanDerhei , session leader and AAP's Training Coordinator. "This workshop was a great opportunity to present an overview of existing training resources and ideas for reaching out to potential trainees'.

Making the most effective use of these resources and engaging the support of the abortion care community are important steps towards improving access to abortion care. The workshop highlighted various examples in which successful training relationships between experienced independent providers and trainees resulted in improved access to abortion.