Assessment of Knowledge and Attitude regarding Emergency Contraception among Medical Students of North India

Background: Emergency Contraceptives (ECs) used to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sexual intercourse can forestall up to over 95% of pregnancies when taken inside within 5 days after intercourse. In India, about 0.18% women die every year due to abortion-related complications. Knowledge about emergency contraceptives is still relatively unknown to common man and even to medical professionals. This study therefore aims to assess the knowledge and attitude of medical students about the emergency contraception. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was done for 5 months period from January 2016 to May 2016. 250 medical students (125 females and 125 males) were selected by simple random sampling with 50 undergraduate students from each professionals (1st to 4th year), and 50 interns studying and working in PGIMS Rohtak. A predesigned pretested questionnaire was used for the study. Result: Mean age of the study participants was 22.5 (±3) years. There was significant improvement in the knowledge about ECs with successive MBBS professional year with poor knowledge in 48% students. 53.6% of study participants showed unfavorable attitude with 74% interns having favorable attitude of score more than 2 which was found statistically significant. Knowledge was significantly good among age >20 years (58.9%), family income more than 1 lakh/month (64.7%) and male gender (55.6%). Unfavorable attitude was significantly more among students with middle income category (64.4%) and urban residential background (57.5%). Conclusion: The study reveals poor Knowledge and attitude among medical students about emergency contraception which is a matter of concern. There is a need to change the learning strategies of medical students with their practical involvement with patients and community. How to cite this article:Pawar N, Choudhary P, Mital AK, Sembi S, Singhania K, Verma S. Assessment of Knowledge and Attitude regarding Emergency Contraception among Medical Students of North India. Int J Preven Curat Comm Med 2019; 5(4): 18-25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2454.325X.201925