Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Obstetrician – Gynecologists on Emergency Contraception in Yerevan, Armenia, a research grant proposal

Abstract

Contraception is the use of various devices, drugs, agents, sexual practices or surgical procedures to prevent conception or pregnancy. In 2015, globally the usage of some type of contraception was 64.0 % among reproductive age women. Globally, the unmet need for contraception is estimated at 12.0 %. This indicates that at least one in 10 women of reproductive age has unmet need of contraception. Emergency contraception (EC) refers to the methods of contraception that include the use of any drug or device to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sexual intercourse. The EC is considered as a second chance to prevent undesired pregnancy when contraception fails or in the case of unprotected sexual intercourse. According to the American Society for Emergency Contraception, the use of EC methods is underutilized in most of the countries. There are multiple barriers for the use of EC including their availability and affordability, and the attitude/prescription practices of providers. This study aim is to investigate knowledge, attitude and practice of the emergency contraception among obstetrician - gynecologists practicing in primary health care facilities in Yerevan. To answer the research questions, the study team will utilize analytical cross-sectional study design. The target population of this study includes obstetrician - gynecologists practicing in Yerevan, Armenia. Data will be collected through self-administered questionnaires. The main domains of the questionnaire include knowledge on the EC, attitude towards the EC, practice of prescribing the EC, barriers to prescribing of the EC, and demographic information of the respondents. The census of all 240 obstetrician – gynecologists practicing in the primary health care facilities in Yerevan will be conducted.Data entry and cleaning will be done using SPSS and STATA software. Descriptive statistics will be run on all independent and dependent variables. Univariate linear regression will be run to detect unadjusted associations. Multivariate linear regression will be run to explore adjusted associations between independent variables and practice of the EC, while controlling for the covariates. The study approved by the Institutional Review Board of the American University of Armenia. The proposed study will last four months and the research team will consist of the study coordinator and study assistant. The total budget of the proposed study is estimated to be 1.834.400 AMD.