Contraceptive knowledge among women at risk of unintended pregnancy in Kingston, Jamaica

ABSTRACT

Low contraceptive knowledge may limit contraception initiation or continuation and, consequently, could represent an important, modifiable cause of unintended pregnancy. The objective of this analysis was to identify correlates of knowledge among women at risk of unintended pregnancy. We analyzed data from a study of 222 young women attending a public clinic in Kingston in November 2018 to March 2019. We measured contraceptive knowledge with seven questions on method reversibility, ability to use covertly, contraindications, and side effects. We used multivariable linear regression to evaluate the correlates of summary knowledge scores and report beta coefficients, which represent differences in mean summary knowledge scores. The mean knowledge score was low (2.7; range = 0–7). Only 30.2% of the participants correctly identified intrauterine devices as more effective than oral contraception, male condoms, and withdrawal. Women who reported that their provider discussed contraception scored higher (adjusted ß = 0.37, p = 0.05) than those not reporting this. Women who perceived implants as very/mostly safe scored higher (adjusted ß = 0.45, p = 0.01) than those perceiving the device as mostly/very unsafe. Finally, compared to contraception non-users, women using less-effective contraception had a lower score (adjusted ß = −0.40, p = 0.04) while those using effective contraception did not differ in scores (ß = −0.30, p = 0.18). Overall, we found poor contraceptive knowledge among young women in Kingston. Providers appeared to hold an important role in women’s understanding of contraception.

KEYWORDS:

• Behavior
• contraception
• Jamaica
• knowledge
• unwanted pregnancy
• young adult

Availability of data and materials

The study dataset is available from the corresponding author following institutional approvals.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Society of Family Planning Research Fund [SFPRF11-04]; National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences [UL1TR001070].