ABSTRACT
This study in Dohuk district of Kurdistan region, northern Iraq, in 2003 estimated the prevalence of contraceptive use and unmet need, and investigated associated knowledge, attitudes and practices. With multi-stage sampling, 800 married women aged 15-49 years were interviewed. Current prevalence of contraceptive use (any method) among 668 non-pregnant women was 60.6%: use of modern methods was 26.5% and traditional methods was 34.1%. Among all respondents, current unmet need for any contraception was 29.3% (most commonly among women of low socioeconomic status) and that for modern (effective) contraception was 28.5% (most commonly among women of high socioeconomic status). A comprehensive and decentralized family planning programme needs to be implemented in the region.
Subject(s)
Attitude to Health/ethnology , Family Planning Services/organization & administration , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Islam/psychology , Needs Assessment/organization & administration , Women/psychology , Adolescent , Adult , Birth Rate/ethnology , Chi-Square Distribution , Contraception/methods , Contraception/psychology , Contraception/statistics & numerical data , Contraception Behavior/ethnology , Employment/statistics & numerical data , Family Characteristics , Family Planning Policy , Family Planning Services/education , Female , Humans , Iraq , Male , Middle Aged , Pregnancy , Pregnancy, Unwanted/ethnology , Residence Characteristics/statistics & numerical data , Socioeconomic Factors , Surveys and Questionnaires , Women/educationABSTRACT
This study in Dohuk district of Kurdistan region, northern Iraq, in 2003 estimated the prevalence of contraceptive use and unmet need, and investigated associated knowledge, attitudes and practices. With multi-stage sampling, 800 married women aged 15-49 years were interviewed. Current prevalence of contraceptive use [any method] among 668 non-pregnant women was 60.6%: use of modern methods was 26.5% and traditional methods was 34.1%. Among all respondents, current unmet need for any contraception was 29.3% [most commonly among women of low socioeconomic status] and that for modern [effective] contraception was 28.5% [most commonly among women of high socioeconomic status]. A comprehensive and decentralized family planning programme needs to be implemented in the region
