A Study to determine the knowledge and practices of family planning among women in Mufulira district.

Abstract

The main objective of the study was to determine the knowledge and practices of family planning among women in Mufulira District. The specific objectives were to determine the awareness of family planning services among women, determine the utilisation of family planning services and the factors that influence the utilisation of family planning services. The study was conducted between 6th-30th August, 2001. Literature was reviewed globally, regionally and on the national level that showed factors associated with the knowledge and practices of family planning. Among these factors were the marital status, age, parity, educational level and socioeconomic status. A non-interventional descriptive exploratory type of study was done. It was both quantitative and qualitative.The findings of the study showed that all the respondents (100%) had heard about family planning, 94.8% were able to mention at least one modern method of family planning, 85% were able to define family planning correctly, 83% were knowledgeable about family planning and 17% had inadequate knowledge.