Woman-centered post-abortion care in public hospitals in Tucumán, Argentina: assessing quality of care and its link to human rights.

Unsafe abortion is a major public health and human rights problem in Argentina. Implementation of a woman-centered post-abortion care (PAC) model is one strategy to improve the situation. The quality of PAC services was measured in three public hospitals in Tucumán, a province with high levels of poverty and maternal mortality due to unsafe abortion. Overall, the quality of PAC services was found to be poor. Women do not receive services in a manner that respects their human rights, in particular their rights to health and health care, information, and to the benefits of scientific progress. Findings from the evaluation are being used to develop collaborative NGO/hospital/policy-maker efforts to improve PAC services through better training of health care providers.