Publication:

A study of knowledge, attitude, practice, and preferences of contraceptive methods in women of district Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh

Background Studies have shown that despite the increase in contraceptive uses over the years, there still exist a gap in the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding contraception. The present study has been designed to study the knowledge, attitude, practice and preferences of contraceptive methods in women of district Saharanpur, to determine the association between knowledge and attitude on contraceptive methods with the variables.

Methods A cross sectional descriptive study of 150 females coming to gynaecology OPD using a self-administered questionnaire on knowledge, attitude, scale, practice and preferences was done at GMC, Saharanpur between February 2023 - April 2023.

Results Among 150 participants included 42% were between 18-25 years of age.58.6% were from rural area. 68.6% were Muslims. 32% had primary education and 27.3% had secondary. 84% had their marriage between 19-25 years of age. 92.6% were housewives. 68.6% had a family income between ₹10,001 to ₹15,000. 53.3% belong to nuclear family. 42% of participants had 3 or more children. 68% had moderate knowledge on contraceptives, accounting from media which were 32% followed by health care workers which was 30%. Majority had a favourable attitude towards contraceptive methods, 77%. 2.6% did not use any contraceptive methods. 25.3% used barrier methods, followed by OCP usage at 21.3%. There was an association between knowledge, education, residence, family size and age in years.

Conclusions The study showed that majority of the females had moderate knowledge and favourable attitude towards contraceptive usage.