Publication:

Assessing the knowledge, attitude and practice of contraception in rural India: a necessary step in achieving population control

Background India’s projected population will be 1.53 Billion by the year 2050. Every fifth birth in the world is an Indian, and 50% percent of the Indian population are of reproductive age. Objective of present work was to study the knowledge, attitude and practice of contraception among rural women.

Methods 100 rural women in the study were evaluated with the help of a pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire for the knowledge regarding contraception.

Results Though all women were aware of at least one contraceptive method, 11% never used contraception. The most commonly used contraceptive was condom 59%, followed by 41% CU-T, 27% tubectomy, 18% pills, 10% injectable and 3% emergency contraception.

Conclusions Though knowledge about at least one contraceptive method existed, there is a strong need for motivational strategies to make people accept the methods. Furthermore, there needs to be more educational programs to increase awareness about the existence of various family planning methods.