Knowledge attitude and practice of contraceptives among married women of reproductive age group

Abstract

Background: This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of contraceptives among married women of reproductive age group.Methods: It was a cross sectional study which was carried at outpatient department (OPD) of obstetrics and gynaecology, Government medical college Srinagar over a period of 3 months. A total of 210 married women in the age group 15-49 years were included in the study. Along with the demographic profile, their knowledge, attitude and practices on contraception were evaluated with the help of self-structured questionnaire.Results: The mean age of the study population was 32.5±6.8 years. Majority of the women were in the age group of 26-35 years (56.2%), literate with formal education above 10th class (42.4%), house-makers (46.2%) and from rural background (65.2%). 82.9% of women had awareness regarding any method of contraception. Knowledge about emergency contraceptive was quiet low (11.0%). The most common source of information on contraception was friends and relatives (64.8%). 41% of women had a negative attitude towards contraception. The most common method of contraceptive used was barriers (21.9%). 43.8% of women had never used any contraceptive.Conclusions: Despite having good knowledge about contraception, utilization of contraceptives were less.