TITLE:
Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Contraceptive Use among Women of Reproductive Age in Port Harcourt, Nigeria
AUTHORS:
Terhemen Kasso, Justina Omoikhefe Alegbeleye
KEYWORDS:
Attitude, Contraceptive, Knowledge, Practice, Reproductive Age
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Reproductive Sciences,
Vol.11 No.4,
September
28,
2023
ABSTRACT: Background: Low contraceptive use among all other factors have been implicated in
rapid population growth seen in low and lower middle-income countries (LLMICs).
This can be attributed to poor knowledge and attitude of the populace towards
use of modern contraceptives. Aim: To determine the knowledge, attitude
and practice of contraception among pregnant women attending ANC at the
University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) in Port Harcourt, Rivers
State, Nigeria from July 1 to August 31, 2021. Methods: This
quantitative study was designed as a descriptive cross-sectional study that recruited 529 women. They were
administered with a semi-structured questionnaire which was used to
collect their data and responses. The data was analysed using Statistical
Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 25. Results: According to
the findings, 57.3% and 47.1% of the women had poor knowledge and negative
attitude towards contraception respectively. About a tenth of the women (9.8%)
utilised contraceptives of which 44.2% and 42.3% used the natural method and
male condoms respectively. The study also revealed the major reason behind the
low use as desire for more children (36.3%). Conclusion: The study
showed that the women had poor knowledge and negative attitude towards
contraceptives and this translated to poor contraceptive use. Hence, awareness
campaigns should be intensified by health workers towards enlightening the
populace on the different types, uses and benefits of modern contraceptives.