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Emergency Contraception in Post‐Conflict Somalia: An Assessment of Awareness and Perceptions of Need
Author(s) -
Gure Faduma,
Dahir Mohammed Koshin,
Yusuf Marian,
Foster Angel M.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
studies in family planning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.529
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1728-4465
pISSN - 0039-3665
DOI - 10.1111/j.1728-4465.2016.00047.x
Subject(s) - somali , focus group , emergency contraception , qualitative research , pill , enthusiasm , medicine , family planning , family medicine , population , psychology , nursing , environmental health , social psychology , sociology , philosophy , linguistics , social science , anthropology , research methodology
In conflict‐affected settings such as Somalia, emergency contraception (EC) has the potential to serve as an important means of pregnancy prevention. Yet Somalia remains one of the few countries without a registered progestin‐only EC pill. In 2014, we conducted a qualitative, multi‐methods study in Mogadishu to explore awareness of and perceptions of need for EC. Our project included 10 semi‐structured key informant interviews, 20 structured in‐person interviews with pharmacists, and four focus group discussions with married and unmarried Somali women. Our findings reveal a widespread lack of knowledge of both existing family planning methods and EC. However, once we described EC, participants expressed enthusiasm for expanding access to post‐coital contraception. Our results shed light on why Somalia continues to be a global exception with respect to an EC product and suggest possible politically and culturally acceptable and effective avenues for introducing EC into the health system.