The Impact of an Educational Program in Changing the Knowledge and Attitudes of Family Planning in Women of Reproductive Age in A Selected Estate Group in Rathnapura District

Abstract

Women who live in estates continue to have unmet family planning needs. This research was conducted to determine the potential impact of educational interventions on respondents' knowledge and attitudes regarding contraception. In the Kosgalawatteestate, a quasi-experimental interventional study was conducted with women of reproductive age (18 to 49). 100 women selected from an eligible family register using simple random sampling were given a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire. A grading method was used to determine their average degree of knowledge and desirable attitudes toward contraception. Following the implementation of an interventional program, the post-knowledge and attitudes were evaluated using the same question formats after two weeks, and a score was calculated. The results of a means were compared using an independent sample T-test. 2.38 children on average (n=100) are born to each mother in this sample. Following the intervention, there was a statistically significant (p<0.05) improvement in the knowledge of the frequency of depot injections by 38.3%, the significance of emergency tablets by 36.9% and the effects of missing pills by 33.1%. The average score for the entire sample of 10 questions about knowledge of contraception before the intervention was 4.84/10 (n=100 SD=1.8948) and after the intervention, it was increased to 7.65/10 (n=87 SD=1.2924). The average score for the entire sample of 10 questions about desirable attitudes towards contraception before the intervention was 12.09/20 (n=100 SD=2.3574) and it was increased to 14.701/20 (n=87 SD=3.0580) after the intervention. The mean difference in attitude is -2.6111 and the mean difference in knowledge is -2.8152, both of which are statistically significant. (p<0.05). The introduction of more interventional initiatives on family planning is needed to increase the knowledge and attitude of unmet family planning needs in people living in Estate sector.