Open AccessSTUDY ON KNOWLEDGE OF FAMILY PLANNING AMONG MARRIED WOMEN IN REPRODUCTIVE AGE GOUP IN AN URBAN AREA OF NORTHERN KERALA
Author(s) -
Arya Lokesan Ratnam,
Jayasree Anandabhavan Kumaran
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
paripex indian journal of research
Language(s) - English
DOI - 10.36106/paripex/8307849
Subject(s) - condom , family planning , demography , reproductive health , sterilization (economics) , medicine , marital status , family medicine , population , environmental health , research methodology , sociology , syphilis , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , monetary economics , economics , foreign exchange market , foreign exchange
BACKGROUND India is the second most crowded nation in the world. India will become the most populous country inthe world in near future if it follows the current growth rate. Family planning is one of the best methods to tackle thisproblem. The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge of family planning among married women in reproductive agegroup in an urban area of northern Kerala.METHODS A community based cross sectional study was conducted in Kandangali, the field practice area comingunder Urban Health Training Centre of a tertiary care Centre from June, 2016 - July, 2017.A total of 491 married females inreproductive age group were studied. A semi-structured pre-tested self-administered questionnaire was used to collectinformation. . Data was analysed using SPSS software.RESULTS: Out of 491 married females, 98.4%, 0.8% and 0.8% were Hindus, Muslims and Christians respectively.Majority (57%) of them belongs to a family size of less than or equal to 4 members. Majority (97.4%) of women had aneducational qualification more than high school and most of the study participants (35.2%) were graduates. Majority(71.5%) of the women were housewives. Most of the study participants have average knowledge (62.3%) about familyplanning methods. Still there are misconceptions regarding condom and male sterilization. The main source ofinformation about family planning was from health workers. Majority (95.7%) of them had heard of condom (95.7percent) and the least heard method was injectable (10.6%).CONCLUSION: Majority of women had average knowledge towards family planning; still there are misconceptionsespecially about male sterilization and condom. Continuous health education program have to be conducted aboutfamily planning methods.