In the SAPA conceptual model, once an individual confirms their pregnancy, there are three possible pathways: parenting, abortion, and adoption. These pathways are evaluated across two dimensions—self-assessed feasibility and personal attitudes—to categorize their pregnancy acceptability: unacceptable, mixed acceptability, or highly acceptable. This is contextualized by macro- and micro-level factors, the person’s perceived reproductive autonomy (including whether the pregnancy was the result of sexual violence), and whether the individual preferred to have avoided being pregnant in the first place.
SAPA can identify specific and actionable policy implications including the need for parenting and economic support, abortion access, contraception, and sexual violence prevention and services.
Want to learn how this conceptual model was transformed into a novel epidemiologic measure? Explore SAPA's items, scoring rubric, and validation testing results here.