Emergency contraception: practice of service providers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

A quantitative, descriptive, explorative, contextual study was conducted to determine pharmacists' and drug vendors' levels of knowledge, and attitudes towards and practices of emergency contraceptives (ECs) services in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. From all licensed pharmacies and drug shops in Addis Ababa, 40 service providers were randomly selected, during 2008, and interviewed using structured interview schedules. The findings revealed that although these service providers were knowledgeable about the purpose and dosing schedules of EC, they lacked knowledge about side-effects, contra-indications, and types of ECs. Most respondents portrayed subjective attitudes towards easy EC access, especially for adolescent girls, since they believed that it would encourage promiscuity and unprotected sexual intercourse. The knowledge, practices and attitudes of these pharmacists and drug vendors should be improved, as it has a direct effect on potential EC users for preventing unwanted pregnancies among young women, especially adolescent girls.