It’s My Choice was developed using a systematic, user-centered design approach guided by principles of integrated knowledge translation. Following the initial development of a prototype version of It’s My Choice, previously called My Body, My Choice, we tested the tool’s usability through think-aloud interviews involving patient participants between 18 and 49 years of age who were assigned female at birth. We used the results of these interviews to adapt the prototype to a web-based tool. Finally, the website was tested by healthcare providers and patient participants in an online survey to determine usability of the online tool.

To read more about the development of It’s My Choice, read “User-Centered Development of a Patient Decision Aid for Choice of Early Abortion Method: Multi-Cycle Mixed Methods Study”.

To read more about testing It’s My Choice, read “A Patient Decision Aid for Method of Early Abortion: a Randomized Control Trial”.

In the first year of the CART Access project, we culturally adapted and translated to It’s My Choice to French, Mandarin, and Punjabi. Additionally, we developed a short animated video, It’s My Choice: a tool for choosing method of abortion, with translated subtitles.

We interviewed four Indigenous Knowledge Keepers who work in sexual and reproductive healthcare to assess the cultural relevance of the It’s My Choice patient decision aid for Indigenous communities. Knowledge Keepers made suggestions for how to improve the tool’s readability and privacy.

We hired three Language Expert partners who spoke French, Mandarin, and Punjabi to meaningfully guide the translation of the tool and introductory video. Language Experts consulted with clinicians who spoke their respective language to ensure that the language used was medically accurate.

We additionally interviewed a total of 16 language speakers (6 French, 6 Mandarin, 4 Punjabi) to assess the accessibility of the tool as well as its cultural relevance.

In the second year of the CART Access Project, we developed three additional videos, What is an abortion procedure?, What is a medication abortion?, and How to ask for an abortion. The videos are available with English, French, Mandarin, and Punjabi voiceovers as well optional subtitles.

Additionally, we added translated voiceovers to the introductory video, It’s My Choice: a tool for choosing method of abortion.

Together with Dr. Melissa Brooks (Dalhousie University) we have received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to test the implementation of It’s My Choice in Canadian clinical settings.

Our project aims to explore:

1. What factors contribute to successful and sustained implementation of an evidence based shared decision-making (SDM) intervention in routine care, using the case example of the It's My Choice patient decision aid for method of early abortion?

2. What implementation strategies can be used to successfully implement SDM interventions, using the case example of It’s My Choice, and how is this influenced by various contextual factors, such as practice setting and type of provider?

3. Does use of It’s My Choice reduce abortion seekers’ decisional conflict when used in the real-world setting?

We received funding in 2024 and will initiate data collection in 2025.