Nurse's knowledge about effectiveness of natural family planning methods

Abstract EN

Background: Natural family planning methods are considered easy methods and have no side effects when used to prevent unintended pregnancy, so nurses have an important role in providing counseling and health education for women in fertile age.

Objective: To assess nurses knowledge about effectiveness of natural family planning methods to avoid unwanted pregnancy.

Methods: A descriptive study was conducted on probability sample (systematic random) of (100) nurse and midwife who work in obstetric and gynecological departments from six hospitals at Baghdad City which include family planning clinic which include: AL-Karkh maternity Hospital, Al-Elwia Maternity Teaching Hospital, Fatima Al-Zahra'a Maternity and Pediatric Teaching Hospital, AL-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital, ALKademya Teaching Hospital and AL-Nuaaman Teaching Hospital.

Study implemented for the period of February 24th 2012 to April 25th 2012.

A questionnaire was used as a tool of data collection to fulfill with objective of the study and consisted of four parts, including demographic, reproductive characteristics, personal experience in using method or in attending continue education training of knowledge and effectiveness for each methods of natural family planning.

A pilot study was carried out to test the reliability of the questionnaire and content validity was carried out through the 17 experts.

Descriptive statistical analyses were used to analyze the data.

Results: The results of the study revealed that most mothers their average age (39) years, (39%) of study sample was graduated from secondary school of nursing, (53%) of study sample work at obstetric and gynecological ward, (84%) of study sample were married and the highest percentage (44%) their sources of knowledge about natural family planning were from Friends and family.

Most of the study sample had unaccepted knowledge about effectiveness of natural family planning methods, one reason for this is that little information on natural family planning is provided in nursing curriculum and also because of sources of nurses about natural family planning was not equability enough to based on it.

Conclusion: Nurses had inadequate knowledge regarding the effectiveness of different types of natural family planning because of not have awareness about these methods and not have equability source of knowledge about natural family planning.