DOI: 10.11648/j.cajph.20261204.12 ISSN: 2575-5781

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Contraception in an Urban Setting: The Case of Women Residing in the Ouakam District Municipality in the City of Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Coumba Ka, Cheikh Diop, Aby Sarr, Ndeye Sougou
Show PDF Cite
Introduction: Contraception is a major strategy in the fight against maternal and infant mortality, which moreover remains very high in our African countries, despite the efforts made. Method: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study aimed at evaluating the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding contraception among women residing in an urban setting in the Commune d'Arrondissement of Ouakam in the City of Dakar from January 21 to February 15, 2020. Results: The mean age was 29 years with extremes of 18 and 50 years. The status of “married”, of “housewives” and of the level of “schooling in French” predominated with respectively 80%, 40.75% and 76.20%. The level of knowledge of contraception was 90%. The “midwife” was the main source of knowledge (30.67%) and birth spacing the main reason for use (44.65%). The majority of women (72.81%) obtained contraceptive products from public health facilities. Almost all women (96%) informed their spouses before using this contraception and 94% of them had given a favorable opinion. The practice of contraception concerned 70% of women and the injectable method was the most used (44.14%) followed by implants (31.6%). Therapeutic adherence was 93%. Side effects were noted in 91% of women and were essentially constituted by cessation of menstruation (67.35%) and weight gain (21%). Discontinuation of contraception for more than 6 months concerned 60% of women and the main reason was the desire for pregnancy (60%). The proportion of women stating that they had never taken the morning-after pill was 86.23%. The satisfaction rate regarding women’s use of contraception was 85%. The factors associated with the practice of contraception were age over 30 years (p<0.001), the status of “housewife” (p<0.001), the status of “married woman” (p<0.001), knowledge of contraception (p<0.001) and having more than two children (p<0.001). Conclusion: The knowledge, attitudes and practices of women residing in the commune d'arrondissement of Ouakam with regard to contraception are judged good. In addition, the rate of contraceptive use was above the national standard. Measures to raise awareness through community actors must continue to be strengthened in order to maintain, if not improve, the results obtained.

More from our Archive