Aldabbagh Raghad O, Al-Qazaz Harith Kh
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, University of Mosul, Ninevah 81011, Iraq.
Int J Womens Health. 2020 Mar 2;12:107-113. doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S231529. eCollection 2020.
For thousands of years, fertility control has been used in different forms. This study was carried out to evaluate the knowledge and practice of participants regarding birth control methods with the prevalence of each method.
A cross-sectional study design was employed to evaluate knowledge and practice among females. Three family-planning centers were included in addition to 2 general hospitals. A total of 440 married women between the ages of 18 and 40 years were interviewed by the first author. Self-administered version of a previously translated questionnaire was used to evaluate practice and knowledge concerning contraception use.
A total sample of 388 women of child-bearing age was interviewed. The mean age ± SD was 29.76 ± 6.67, while the mean number of their offspring was 4.06 ± 2.08. The intrauterine contraceptive device was the most frequently used method followed by oral contraceptive pills, while the safe-period method was the least frequently used. More than 50% of the females obtained their contraceptives from public health centers and/or hospitals. The mean number of contraception methods known by the females was 2.15 ± 1.07. Safety was the most indicated criterion for choosing the preferred method. Out of all the respondents, 86.9% indicated that they experience adverse effects from using contraceptive methods, in which a higher rate was for oral pills (31.1%), intrauterine contraceptive device (21.3%), or from both methods (18.4%).
This study disclosed an acceptable level of knowledge and positive practices among Iraqi women seeking health-care facilities with respect to birth control methods. Females with lower levels of education require continued education and regular communication about the importance of birth control to promote the use of modern contraceptive methods. The findings from this study will help to develop programs that can improve knowledge of females and services provided by the health-care system and can reduce adverse effects from contraception and the incidence of unplanned pregnancies.
数千年来，生育控制一直以不同形式存在。本研究旨在评估参与者对避孕方法的了解和实践情况以及每种方法的流行程度。
采用横断面研究设计来评估女性的知识和实践情况。除了2家综合医院外，还纳入了3个计划生育中心。第一作者对440名年龄在18至40岁之间的已婚女性进行了访谈。使用先前翻译问卷的自填版本来评估避孕使用的实践和知识。
共访谈了388名育龄女性。平均年龄±标准差为29.76±6.67，其子女平均数量为4.06±2.08。宫内节育器是最常用的方法，其次是口服避孕药，而安全期法是最不常用的。超过50%的女性从公共卫生中心和/或医院获得避孕药具。女性知晓的避孕方法平均数量为2.15±1.07。安全性是选择首选方法时最常提及的标准。在所有受访者中，86.9%表示她们在使用避孕方法时会出现不良反应，其中口服避孕药的发生率较高（31.1%），宫内节育器（21.3%），或两种方法都有不良反应的发生率为（18.4%）。
本研究揭示了在寻求医疗保健服务的伊拉克女性中，对避孕方法有可接受的知识水平和积极的实践情况。教育程度较低的女性需要持续接受教育，并就生育控制的重要性进行定期沟通，以促进现代避孕方法的使用。本研究结果将有助于制定相关项目，提高女性的知识水平和医疗保健系统提供的服务，并减少避孕不良反应和意外怀孕的发生率。
