A National Survey of OBGYNs’ Experiences After Dobbs

Methods Summary

The KFF 2023 National OBGYN Survey obtained responses from a nationally representative sample of OBGYNs practicing in the United States who provide sexual and reproductive health care to patients in office-based settings. The survey was designed and analyzed by researchers at KFF, and an independent research company, SSRS, carried out the fieldwork and collaborated on questionnaire design, pretesting, sample design, and weighting. Survey responses were collected via paper and online questionnaires from March 17 to May 18, 2023 from 569 OBGYNs.

Providers were sent an up-front cash $20 incentive in the first mailing to encourage respondents to complete the survey.

The response rate for eligible OBGYNs was 29.9% and was calculated using AAPOR’s RR3. Overall, 39% of qualified OBGYNs completed the survey by web and 61% completed by mail.

The samples were weighted to match known demographics. Taking into account the design effect, the margin of sampling error for results based on total OBGYNs is +/- 5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. Margins of sampling error for the state groupings are +/- 7% in states where abortion is available under most circumstances, +/- 7% in states with gestational limits, and +/- 7% in states where abortion is banned. Please see the attached topline for the full methodology report.

Sample Overview

We surveyed a nationally representative sample of 569 U.S. OBGYNs currently in clinical practice. Eligible physicians were board-certified OBGYNs who spend at least 60% of their time providing direct patient care and provide sexual and reproductive health care to at least 10% of their patients in an office-based setting. We compared survey responses by key physician and practice characteristics. Gender, age and race were determined by physician self-report. Practice size was determined by the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) physicians or advance practice clinicians (small <4, medium 4-10, large > 10). Sampling was conducted to ensure an adequate sample of OBGYNs in states where abortion was available under most circumstances, meaning that it is legal without pre-viability gestational limits, during the survey field period: AK, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, HI, IL, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MT, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OR, PA, RI, VA, VT, WA, WY; states with pre-viability gestational restrictions during the survey field period: AZ, FL, GA, IA, IN, KS, NC, ND, NE, OH, SC, UT; and states where abortion was banned during the survey field period: AL, AR, ID, KY, LA, MO, MS, OK, SD, TN, TX, WI, WV. During the field period, there was a change in policy in ND and abortion is now banned. ND remains in the gestational limits category for this analysis, as that was the status of the state’s policy for most of the field period.

Characteristics of Survey Respondents

Table 2 shows the demographics of the survey respondents. More than six in ten are women (64%), most were under the age of 55 (57%), 68% are White, 14% Asian, 6% Black, and 7% Hispanic. The majority of OBGYNs surveyed work in private office-based practices (83% in solo, group or hospital owned private practice or HMOs and  other private practices). A minority practiced in what was defined as a health center/clinic (14%). Just over four in ten (46%) OBGYNs work in medium size practices with 4-10 clinicians, and the majority practice in urban/suburban locations (90%). Half (54%) practice in states where abortion is available under most circumstances, 25% in states with pre-viability gestational restrictions, and 21% in states where abortion is banned.