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Introduction: This study characterized the extent to which (1) financial barriers and (2) abortion care-seeking within a person's country of residence were associated with delays in abortion access among those travelling to England and the Netherlands for abortion care from European countries where abortion is legal on broad grounds in the first trimester but where access past the first trimester is limited to specific circumstances. Methodology: We drew on cross-sectional survey data collected at five abortion clinics in England and the Netherlands from 2017 to 2019 (n = 164). We assessed the relationship between difficulty paying for the abortion/travel, acute financial insecurity, and in-country care seeking on delays to abortion using multivariable discrete-time hazards models. Results: Participants who reported facing both difficulty paying for the abortion procedure and/or travel and difficulty covering basic living costs in the last month reported longer delays in accessing care than those who had no financial difficulty (adjusted hazard odds ratio: 0.39 95% CI 0.21–0.74). This group delayed paying other expenses (39%) or sold something of value (13%) to fund their abortion, resulting in ~ 60% of those with financial difficulty reporting it took them over a week to raise the funds needed for their abortion. Having contacted or visited an abortion provider in the country of residence was associated with delays in presenting abroad for an abortion. Discussion: These findings point to inequities in access to timely abortion care based on socioeconomic status. Legal time limits on abortion may intersect with individuals' interactions with the health care system to delay care. Plain Language Summary: This paper explores delays in accessing abortion care associated with financial and medical system barriers. We focus on residents of countries in Europe where abortion is available on broad grounds in the first trimester seeking abortion care outside of their country of residence. This study demonstrates an association between difficulty covering abortion costs for people facing financial insecurity and in-country care seeking and delays in accessing abortion abroad. Policy barriers, medical system barriers, as well as financial barriers may interact to delay access to care for people in European countries with broad grounds for abortion access in the first trimester but restrictions thereafter, especially for people later in pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

English and Welsh rape trials have long been recognized as problematic, with research highlighting the prevalence of rape myths, sexual history evidence and manipulative questioning at trial. Despite this extensive literature, little attention has been paid to the more practical elements of rape trials, but the limited evidence that does exist suggests these may significantly impact survivors. This article therefore draws upon 13 months of court observations to examine how seemingly mundane aspects of rape trials can present substantial barriers to participation. It will argue that ‘special measures’ can cause delays, some witness facilities are inadequate and that the public gallery is frequently a site of intimidation. Ultimately, the research highlights simple changes that could increase opportunities for survivor justice; for example ensuring rape survivors use judicial entrances to court. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Blood tests are requested for approximately 50% of patients attending the emergency department (ED). The time taken to obtain the results is perceived as a common reason for delay. The objective of this study was therefore to investigate the turnaround time (TAT) for blood results and whether this affects patient length of stay (LOS) and to identify potential areas for improvement. Methods A time-in-motion study was performed at the ED of the John Radcliffe Hospital (JRH), Oxford, UK. The duration of each of the stages leading up to receipt of 101 biochemistry and haematology results was recorded, along with the corresponding patient's LOS. Results The findings reveal that the mean time for haematology results to become available was 1 hour 6 minutes (95% CI: 29 minutes to 2 hours 13 minutes), while biochemistry samples took 1 hour 42 minutes (95% CI: 1 hour 1 minute to 4 hours 21 minutes), with some positive correlation noted with the patient LOS, but no significant variation between different days or shifts. Conclusions With the fastest 10% of samples being reported within 35 minutes (haematology) and 1 hour 5 minutes (biochemistry) of request, our study showed that delays can be attributable to laboratory TAT. Given the limited ability to further improve laboratory processes, the solutions to improving TAT need to come from a collaborative and integrated approach that includes strategies before samples reach the laboratory and downstream review of results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]