Family planning in Jordan: a cross-sectional study on service availability, knowledge and attitudes among women

Despite progress made in improving family planning (FP) services in Jordan, significant barriers remain. This study aimed to assess the availability of FP services in primary care settings and explore women's knowledge and attitudes toward FP to support the development of more person-centred FP services and interventions.

The Service Availability and Readiness Assessment (SARA) was conducted in 2022 in six governorates to assess FP service availability in Jordan. Also, a cross-sectional study was conducted among women who attended primary health centres (PHCs) for postpartum care or immunisation of newborns to assess their knowledge, attitude and past experience of using FP, and family support.

SARA results showed limited healthcare capacity for FP services with inadequate FP training mainly in PHCs and village centres, and a lack of reproductive health training in most centres. Among 972 women, 6% had never heard of FP, and only 47.1% received FP counselling before their last delivery. About 76% considered contraceptives expensive, despite being free for Jordanians and refugees. Only 22.7% discussed contraceptive use with their husbands. The proportion of women who visited PHC for antenatal care ≤8 times was 56.8% among Syrian women and 46.3% among Jordanian women, while it was 68.7% among women living in Mafraq governorate and 36.8% in Irbid governorate.

Barriers to FP services include limited availability in rural areas, insufficient knowledge and negative attitudes, with evidence of disparities in antenatal care access across demographics and regions. Awareness programmes and enhanced staff capacity are recommended to improve FP service access and utilisation.