Changes in Reproductive Health Information-Seeking Behaviors After the Dobbs Decision
Author Information
Author(s): Purnat Tina, Walker Damilola, Gorman Sara, Lemieux Mackenzie BSc, MD, Zhou Cyrus BA, Cary Caroline BA, Kelly Jeannie MD
Primary Institution: Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Hypothesis
Changes in reproductive health information-seeking behavior could be better understood by examining Wikipedia article traffic.
Conclusion
People sought information on Wikipedia about abortion and contraception at increased rates after the Dobbs decision.
Supporting Evidence
- Wikipedia articles related to abortion topics had significantly increased page views following the Dobbs decision.
- There was a 103-fold increase in the page views for the Wikipedia article Roe v. Wade following the Dobbs decision leak.
- Articles about abortion in the most restrictive states had a greater increase in page views than articles about abortion in states with some restrictions or protections.
- Views to pages about common contraceptive methods significantly increased after the Dobbs decision.
Takeaway
After a big court decision about abortion, many people looked up information on Wikipedia about abortion and birth control.
Methodology
Page views of abortion- and contraception-related Wikipedia pages were scraped and analyzed for changes before and after the Dobbs decision.
Potential Biases
The study does not account for information-seeking behavior outside of Wikipedia or among non-English speakers.
Limitations
The study was limited to analyzing behaviors of people with internet access and only included English-language Wikipedia.
Participant Demographics
The study does not provide specific demographic information about the participants.
Statistical Information
P-Value
<.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website