Knowledge and the Factors Associated with Knowledge of Emergency Contraception among the Married Women of 18 to 45 Years in an Urban Area of Delhi

Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences,2014,4,4,1126-1134.
Published:November 2014
Type:Research Article
Authors:
Author(s) affiliations:

Verma A1*, Singh SV2, Gupta VK3, Garg S4, Meena JK5

1Post Graduate Student, Department of Community Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India.

2Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India.

3Director Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India.

4Director Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India.

5Post Graduate Student, Department of Community Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India.

Abstract:

Knowledge about emergency contraception is particularly important because of high rates of unwanted and teenage pregnancy. In India, it is seen as particularly important to prevent unsafe abortions that kill a large number of women every year. The objectives of this study were to assess the knowledge about emergency contraception and study the factors associated with the knowledge among married women of reproductive age group in urban Delhi. The study group comprised of 410 married women in the reproductive age group residing in urban area of Delhi. A structured questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge about emergency contraception and the various factors associated with knowledge. Majority of the females were Muslims (67.6%) and the remaining were Hindus (32.4%). 185 (45.1%) of the study subjects had knowledge about emergency contraception. Most common source of information about ECP was found to be mass media (73.5%). There was a significant association between the knowledge and the selected variables like education, religion, socioeconomic status and previous contraceptive use. Mass media (TV) was the most common source of information about ECP among the study subjects. Mass media can help in popularising emergency contraception in India, but there should be no misinformation. It should provide the complete and accurate information about emergency contraception, regarding its use in emergency situations only.

Age distribution of study subjects