Knowledge about missed contraceptive pills among married women at King Abdulaziz University Hospital

Figures & data

Table 1 Sociodemographic characteristics of the participants

Variable	Frequency (n=357)*	Percent
Age, years
≤25	51	14.3
26–35	185	51.8
36–45	110	30.8
>45	11	3.1
Nationality
Saudi	206	57.7
Non-Saudi	27	7.6
Education
None	22	6.2
Primary school	34	9.5
Secondary	55	15.4
High school	134	37.5
University graduate	94	26.3
Postgraduate	18	5.0
Occupation
Housewife	287	80.4
Teacher	20	5.6
Nurse	6	1.7
Office job	21	5.9
Self-employed	9	2.5
Student	13	3.6
Engineer	1	0.3
Income, SAR (USD)
<5,000 (1,333)	162	45.4
5,000–10,000 (1,333–2,666)	133	37.3
10,000–15,000 (2,666–3,999)	45	12.6
15,000–20,000 (3,999–5,333)	11	3.1
>20,000 (5,333)	6	1.7
Ever been pregnant
Yes	337	94.4
No	20	5.6
Have children
Yes	337	94.4
No	19	5.3

Note:

* The total might be <357 in cases where respondents failed or declined to respond.

Abbreviation: SAR, Saudi riyals; USD, United States dollars.

Table 2 Initiation of oral contraception and the participants’ attitudes and habits regarding its use

Characteristic	Frequency (n=357)*	Percent
Selection of OCP for contraception
Advised by a general physician	30	8.4
Advised by a gynecologist	224	63.1
Others	97	27.2
Cannot remember	4	1.1
Received instructions from a physician on use of the OCP
Yes	236	66.7
No	63	17.8
Not sure	13	3.7
OCP not prescribed by a doctor	42	11.9
Read instructions in package insert
Yes	283	79.9
No	71	20.1
Perceived knowledge about OCP
Strongly agree	70	19.8
Agree	106	29.9
Somewhat agree	105	29.7
Not sure	61	17.2
Not at all	12	3.4
Do you use OCPs as recommended?
Yes	307	86.7
No	47	13.3
Do you know what should be done if you forget one or two pills?
Yes	199	57.7
No	85	24.6
Not sure	61	17.7
Do you know what should be done if you forget three or more pills in a row?
Yes	63	18.3
No	171	49.6
Not sure	111	32.2

Note:

* The total might be <357 in cases where respondents failed or declined to respond.

Abbreviation: OCP, oral contraceptive pill.

Table 3 Participants’ responses to questions that assessed missed pills*

Assessment questions	Correct	Incorrect	Don’t know	Total (N=357)
1. The oral contraceptive pill is one of the most reliable contraceptive methods.	204 (57.6)	115 (32.5)	35 (9.9)	354
2. In case of vomiting within 2 hours of taking OCP, another pill should be taken as soon as possible.	72 (20.4)	216 (61.2)	65 (18.4)	353
3. OCP can be started any day of the cycle if the woman is sure that she is not pregnant.	96 (27.2)	228 (64.6)	29 (8.2)	353
4. Additional contraception is required when oral contraceptive pill is started after the 5th day of the cycle.	50 (14.1)	261 (73.7)	43 (12.1)	354
5. You must wait for withdrawal bleeding to start the new pack.	175 (49.4)	158 (44.6)	21 (5.9)	354
6. What should be done if you forget one to two pills?	220 (64.5)	57 (16.7)	64 (18.8)	341
What should you do if you forget three or more pills?
1. Take the last pill you missed as soon as you remember.	227 (72.8)	43 (13.8)	42 (13.5)	312
2. Continue taking the rest of the pack as usual.	216 (69.7)	50 (16.1)	44 (14.2)	310
3. Use an additional method of contraception for the next 7 days.	46 (15.3)	193 (64.3)	61 (20.3)	300
4. If three or more pills are missed in the 3rd week, a new pack should be started after finishing the pack without a 7-day pill-free interval.	48 (16.2)	77 (26.0)	171 (57.8)

Notes:

* Data are presented as frequency and frequency (percent). The total in each row may not add up to 100%, as some respondents failed or declined to respond to a question.

Abbreviation: OCP, oral contraceptive pill.

Figure 1 Participants’ knowledge scores on oral contraceptive use.

Table 4 Association of sociodemographic characteristics with knowledge score*

Variable	Inadequate knowledge (0–4)	Some knowledge (5–7)	Satisfactory knowledge (8–10)
Income, SAR (USD)
<5,000 (1,333)	112 (49.1)	46 (38.0)	4 (50.0)
5,000–10,000 (1,333–2,666)	81 (35.5)	50 (41.3)	2 (25.0)
10,000–15,000 (2,666–3,999)	24 (10.5)	20 (16.5)	1 (12.5)
15,000–20,000 (3,999–5,333)	7 (3.1)	3 (2.5)	1 (12.5)
>20,000 (5,333)	4 (1.8)	2 (1.7)	0 (0.0)
Mode of OCP selection
General physician	18 (8.0)	11 (9.1)	1 (12.5)
Gynecologist	145 (64.2)	76 (62.8)	3 (37.5)
Self-prescribed	52 (33.0)	29 (34.0)	3 (37.5)
Others	7 (3.1)	5 (4.1)	1 (12.5)
Cannot remember	4 (1.8)	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)
Previous pregnancy
Yes	216 (94.7)	115 (95.0)	6 (75.0)
No	12 (5.3)	6 (5.0)	2 (25.0)
Instructions by doctor regarding OCP use
Yes	149 (65.9)	83 (69.2)	4 (50.0)
No	44 (19.5)	16 (13.3)	3 (37.5)
Not sure	9 (4.0)	4 (3.0)	0 (0.0)
Not prescribed by doctor	24 (10.6)	17 (14.2)	1 (12.5)
Instructions read on the OCP leaflet
Yes	181 (80.1)	95 (79.2)	7 (87.5)
No	45 (19.9)	25 (20.8)	1 (12.5)
Perceived knowledge about OCP use
Strongly agree	50 (22.1)	19 (15.8)	1 (12.5)
Agree	64 (28.3)	40 (33.3)	2 (25.0)
Somewhat agree	63 (27.9)	39 (32.5)	3 (37.5)
Not sure	42 (18.6)	17 (14.2)	2 (25.0)
Not at all	7 (3.1)	5 (4.2)	0 (0.0)
Regular use of OCP
Yes	189 (84.0)	110 (90.9)	8 (100.0)
No	36 (16.0)	11 (9.1)	0 (0.0)
Perceived knowledge about missing one to two pills
Yes	110 (50.9)	82 (67.8)	7 (87.5)
No	70 (32.4)	15 (12.4)	0 (0.0)
Not sure	36 (16.7)	24 (19.8)	1 (12.5)
Perceived knowledge about missing three or more pills
Yes	35 (16.1)	27 (22.5)	1 (12.5)
No	119 (54.8)	49 (40.8)	3 (37.5)
Not sure	63 (29.0)	44 (36.7)	4 (50.0)
Age, years
≤25	30 (13.2)	18 (14.9)	3 (37.5)
26–35	120 (52.6)	62 (51.2)	3 (37.5)
36–45	69 (30.3)	39 (32.2)	2 (25.0)
>45	9 (3.9)	2 (1.7)	0 (0.0)
Ethnicity
Saudi	131 (57.5)	70 (57.9)	5 (62.5)
Non-Saudi	97 (42.5)	51 (42.1)	3 (37.5)
Occupation
Housewife	188 (82.5)	92 (76.0)	7 (87.5)
Other	40 (17.5)	29 (24.0)	1 (12.5)
Education
None	19 (8.3)	2 (1.7)	1 (12.5)
Primary	27 (11.8)	6 (5.0)	1 (12.5)
Secondary/High school	120 (52.6)	67 (55.4)	2 (25.0)
Graduate/Postgraduate	62 (27.2)	46 (38.0)	4 (50.0)

Note:

* Data are presented as frequency (percent) unless otherwise specified.

Abbreviations: OCP, oral contraceptive pill; SAR, Saudi riyals; USD, United States dollars.