Knowledge Regarding Contraceptives in Women with Unmet Need.

Knowledge Regarding Contraceptives in Women

Abstract

Background: To study knowledge about contraceptive methods in women with unmet need. Subjects and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in the Immunization Clinic, Govt. Rajindra Hospital, Patiala (Punjab) among 1000 married women of reproductive age group  using  questionnaire method .Analysis was carried out using EpiInfo 3.2. Results: 16% of women of reproductive age had unmet need. 98.2% of the women knew of at least one method of contraception. Knowledge about the number of different types of contraceptives was more in urban population as compared to rural population. But even in rural areas, 96.9% of the women knew about at least one method. 8.75% knew nothing about the availability of the contraceptive methods. Knowledge of availability of contraceptives was more in urban (98.5%) as compared to rural population (86.2%). In rural area, 13 women did not have any knowledge about the availability of contraceptive methods while in urban areas only one (1.515%) woman did not know about the same. Conclusion: Inspite of high level of knowledge on contraception, unmet need still exists. Knowledge may be deficient or there could be other reasons for unmet need. There is a need to study in more detail the social and cultural factors that determine contraceptive use.