Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding emergency contraception among family-planning providers in Turkey.
OBJECTIVE
The research was planned descriptively to define the knowledge, attitudes and practices of family-planning providers regarding emergency contraception.


METHODS
The sample included 21 Maternal-Child Health/Family Planning Centers located in the European region of Istanbul, and the research was conducted with 41 family-planning providers employed in these facilities.


RESULTS
All of the family-planning providers were aware of emergency contraception, 82.9% accurately defined emergency contraception, 61% stated that emergency contraception was legal, and 53.7% expressed that it could be employed in rape indications. All the family-planning providers (100%) cited combined oral contraceptives, 73.2% cited intrauterine devices, and 9.8% cited other methods (mifepristone, high-dose estrogen, menstrual regulation). Seventy-eight per cent of the family-planning providers stated that they had applied emergency contraception previously, while 53.7% gave limited support to emergency contraception. Two sample cases were given to family-planning providers to define their attitudes, to the first of which most of them were positive. All of them were positive towards the second sample.


CONCLUSIONS
Family-planning providers, whose duty is to support women in critical family-planning and reproductive decisions using their experiences and skills, are supposed to have broad knowledge on the matter of emergency contraception.
Bildircin
M
M
Koç Allianz Life and Pension Insurance Company, Istanbul, Turkey.
Sahin
N Hotun
NH
D000328:Adult; D044363:Contraception, Postcoital; D005193:Family Planning Services; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014421:Turkey