Emergency contraception: knowledge, attitude, and practices among health care providers in North India

The present study was conducted to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice of emergency contraception in health care providers and users in North India.

A survey was carried out with the help of a predesigned questionnaire comprising of two groups of clients (abortion seekers at Family Welfare center, and non-medical college students (prospective clients)); and 4 groups of health care providers (gynecologists, general practitioners, paramedical workers, and medical students).

Practically none of the clients were familiar with the concept of emergency contraception and so the rest of the information could not be obtained from them and hence this was excluded from further analysis. Many providers (84.8% gynecologists, 41.0% general practitioners, 2.7% paramedical workers, and 64.4% medical students) were vaguely familiar with the concept of emergency contraception, very few knew accurately about timing and doses. The majority of these thought it to be an essential component of contraceptive services but preferred distribution through health care providers only. The practice of emergency contraception as reported in the present survey was inconsistent. Yuzpe regimen was the most commonly used method and nausea/vomiting were the commonest side-effects. The question of efficacy of emergency contraception was not answered reliably by the health care providers.

Awareness about emergency contraception among the general population and paramedical workers studied is practically nonexistent. Precise knowledge about emergency contraception among doctors (both gynecologists and general practitioners) is also inadequate. Prescription practices can improve by generating demand and training of health care providers.