DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2015.v03i01.061

Pages: 306-309

Overpopulation in India is the burning problem. It is a major cause of poverty, illiteracy, decrease economy growth, starvation, malnutrition, depletion natural resources. The maternal mortality due to unsafe abortions is 8%. In India, 78% conceptions each year are unplanned and 25% are unwanted. The number of abortions is over 11 million per year, of which 6.7 million are induced. This was a questionnaire based study conducted in a tertiary care hospital in May 2014. Nursing students those who have completed first year were included in the study. The study was approved by the institutional ethics committee and verbal consent was taken from the participants. A score of one was given for each correct response and zero for each wrong response. A total of 168 students participated in the study. In our study only 41% were aware of methods of Emergency Contraception (EC). Other studies have reported 35% and 88% of the students were aware of other methods of EC. In the present study, only 37.55 students knew the mechanism of action of EC. 48.8% of the students opined that EC prevents sexually transmitted diseases. Highest percentage of positive attitude was towards paramedical staff dispensing EC (70.8%) and awareness programs to be promoted by the government (66.6%). 57% felt that purchasing of EC from OTC will be embarrassing. The most common source was from the doctors and television. Workshop/seminar accounted for only 32%. This study suggested that nursing students had overall positive attitude toward EC, but lacked correct knowledge. Health providers were important sources of information of EC. Nurses with a good knowledge and positive attitude towards EC can act as effective counselors to the public creating awareness and to improve their understanding and change their attitude towards EC.