Contraceptive knowledge, attitude and practice among rural women.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge, attitude regarding family planning and the practice of contraceptives among rural women. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional observational study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The gynaecological outpatient clinic of Fatima Hospital, Baqai Medical University, Karachi, from July to December 2005. METHODOLOGY: One-hundred women between the ages 15-45, living with their husbands and coming from rural area (villages) were interviewed. Women who were pregnant, had a child younger than 2 years, or had any medical disorder were excluded. Their knowledge, attitude and practice on contraceptives were evaluated with the help of a predesigned questionnaire. The other variables used were the age of women, parity and educational status. Descriptive analysis was conducted to obtain percentages. RESULTS: Out of 100 interviewed women with mean age of 29.7 years, 81(81%) had some knowledge about family planning methods. The media provided information of contraceptives in 52 out of 81 (64%) women. Regarding the usage of contraceptive methods, only 53 (53%) of the respondents were using some sort of contraception. Barrier method (condoms) was in practice by 18 (33.9%) and 12 (22.6%) of women had already undergone tubal ligation. The women using injectables and intrauterine contraceptive devices were 10 (18.8%) and 7 (13.2%) respectively. Six were using oral contraceptive pills (11.3%). Positive attitude towards contraception was shown by 76 (76%) of them, while 41(41%) stated their husbands' positive attitude towards contraception. CONCLUSION: In the present study, there was a low contraceptive use among women of rural origin despite good knowledge. Motivation of couples through media and health personnel can help to achieve positive attitude of husbands for effective use of contraceptives.