Contraceptive behaviors and awareness in an urban slum community of south India

Abstract

Objective: To assess the factors associated with knowledge, attitude and behavior of contraception use among urban slum population in Chennai.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the urban slum of Anakaputhur, Chennai. Married couples between ages of 19-49 years and living in slum areas were taken up for the study by simple random sampling. Pregnant women, postnatal and postmenopausal women were excluded from the study. Data collection was done using a pretested structured questionnaire focusing on details regarding contraception knowledge, attitude, and practices. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS version 22. Analytical test like Chi square and odds ratio (OR) were used to identify association between knowledge, attitude, and behavior of contraception with the associated variables and enter method of logistic regression analysis was done.

Results: Out of the 360 respondents, 228 were females, with a mean age of (34±5) years. Approximately 43% demonstrated adequate knowledge of contraception use, and 91% were aware of at least one contraceptive method. Notably, 72% exhibited a positive attitude towards contraceptive use. Nevertheless, 43% (155 individuals) did not utilize any contraceptive method. Among contraceptive users, intrauterine devices were the most commonly adopted, followed by barrier methods and female sterilization. There was significant association between knowledge of contraception and education (aOR 7.29, 95% CI 2.93-18.10, P<0.05), age (aOR 2.04, 95% CI 1.193.50, P<0.05) and socioeconomic class (aOR 3.66, 95% CI 1.71-7.85, P<0.05; aOR 3.97, 95% CI 2.12-7.49, P<0.05). Regarding attitude towards contraception use, education (aOR 8.54, 95% CI 2.35-31.03, P<0.05), sex (aOR 0.15, 95% CI 0.06-0.37, P<0.05), age (aOR 0.53, 95% CI 0.28-0.99, P<0.05), socio-economic class (aOR 4.42, 95% CI 1.97-9.92, P<0.05; aOR 9.83, 95% CI 3.63-26.58, P<0.05) and number of children (aOR 10.04, 95% CI 4.26-23.66, P<0.05) were the variables that had a significant association.

Conclusions: These findings underscore the imperative for enhanced dissemination of health education pertaining to contraception use within the slum population. The health sectors of the area and other stakeholders need to make sure to extend penetration of family planning related services to the urban slum population.

Keywords

Family planning / Unmet need / Sterilization / Knowledge / Practice / Urban slum

Conflict of interest statement

Authors report no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to express their gratitude to all the study participants for volunteering for the study and for their valuable time. Special thanks to the faculty of Department of Community Medicine for their support and guidance throughout the study duration. The authors also extend their thanks to the college management for their support.

Funding

The study received no extramural funding.

Authors’ contributions

Dr. Angeline Grace designed and provided the concept for the study. Dr. Sushmitha and Dr. Shirley Esther Priscilla collected data. Dr. Monica Albert Sekhar analysed the data and prepared the manuscript. Dr. Shanthi Edward reviewed the manuscript. All contributing authors approved the final manuscript.

Publisher’s Note

The Publisher of the Journal remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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