A study to determine the knowledge attitudes and practices of emergency contraception among women seeking abortion at Kitwe Central Hospital.

Abstract

The Zambian government endorsed the use of EC in 1997. Since then, the government has mandated the provision and use of EC at all levels of the health care delivery. The adoption of the EC concept was part of a larger effort to reduce the high incidence of abortion due to unwanted pregnancy. Most of these victims of unwanted pregnancies would benefit from EC if they had knowledge and access to it. The study was aimed at determining knowledge, attitude and practices of emergency contraception among women seeking abortion at Kitwe Central Hospital (KCH). Literature review included studies done both locally and internationally. Literature reviewed showed that there is inadequate knowledge amongst providers and client. A cross - sectional descriptive study design with both qualitative and quantitative dimensions was used. The study population was women seeking abortion at KCH aged between 15 and 45 years. A pilot study was done at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH). The actual study was conducted at KCH in September, 2006. Systematic random sampling was used to select a sample of 50. Data was collected using a semi-structured interview schedule. Questions covered knowledge, attitude and practices of emergency contraception. Data was analyzed manually using a data master sheet and has been presented in form of frequency tables, pie charts, bar graphs and cross tabulations which were used to determine special relationships between variables. RESULTS: The study revealed that only 12% of the respondents had heard about EC. Very few (6%) respondents correctly pointed out that it should be taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex. The respondents who knew about EC were mainly those who had attained secondary and college education. The study revealed that almost half of the respondents believed that modern family planning methods led to uterine growths with one-third indicating failure to conceive as one of the end result.