Assessment of the knowledge, attitude and practice of EC and barriers to its use among the antenatal care seekers of Sululta Health Centers, Oromia region, Ethiopia

Background: With global expansion of contraceptive information and services, contraceptive technologies have continually improved and contraceptive prevalence has risen throughout most of the world. Emergency contraceptive pills have become more available in many developing countries. However, limited provider knowledge and negative attitudes, as well as poor user awareness and access, have hindered clients in learning about and using it. The aim of the present study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of EC and also barriers to its use among the antenatal care attendees of Sululta health centers. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Sululta health centres from January to February 2013/2014. Eighty seven Antenatal care attendees were interviewed. Pretested and structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Results: Of the 87 women included in the study 23 (26.4%) reported that the current pregnancy was unplanned and 5 (5.7%) reported that they had induced abortion in the previous years. Of the study participants 25 (28.7%) had ever heard about EC. Whereas only 6 (6.9%) of the women had actually used EC. The preferred places for the provision of EC were public hospitals 2 (8%), health centers 17(68%), private clinics 3 (12%) & pharmacies 11 (44%). Conclusions: This study showed that the major barrier to the use of EC is lack of awareness & also there is demand for education.