Evaluation of Awareness, Attitude and Practice of Women Referring to Gorgan’s Health Centers about Contraceptive Methods in ۲۰۰۸

Background and Objective : One of the important factors for safe Parturition of women is considering the birth intervals. It seems that knowing about effective factor on behavior and action of people is good for health policy. Thus, we aimed at studying the knowledge, attitude and practice of married women, referring to Gorgan’s health centers in ۲۰۰۸, about contraception methods.   Material and Methods : We conducted this descriptive-analytic study on ۲۷۵ married women, selected via convenience sampling, referring to six health centers in Gorgan. The Data was collected by a researcher-made questionnaire (α=۰.۸) including four parts of demographic, knowledge, attitude and practice, and analyzed by SPSS software, using descriptive statistics, correlation and Chi Square. Results: The main reported contraceptive methods are coitus interruptus (۳۶.۳۶%) and condoms (۲۰.۷۲%).­ There is significant relationship between knowledge and occupational status (P=۰.۰۱۱), knowledge and educational level­ (P<۰.۰۵), ­­practice and educational level­ (P<۰.۰۰۰), and between attitude and occupational status­ (P=۰.۰۱۲).   Conclusion: Increased level of knowledge is one of the essential components of improving level of the health and hygiene. The main point for family planning should be stress on heightening of educational level.­ Strengthening the knowledge and changing the attitude may lead to women selecting the safe contraceptive method and modifying ­their fertility behaviors.   Keywords: Knowledge, Attitude, Action, Contraception methods