Planned Parenthood and Healthy Lifestyle: A Survey of Contraception in the Southeastern Region of Nigeria

This study investigated contraceptive praxeology in three Southeastern States, Nigeria. Specifically, this study adopted the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) survey to describe how knowledge of, attitude towards and practices of contraceptives explain contraceptive behavior. Using the purposive and convenience sampling techniques, a sample of 422 females (aged 15 – 49 years) and males (aged 15 – 64 years) was selected using the survey method. However, after checking for response completeness and usability, data from a final sample size of 344 respondents were used in this study. The quantitative data was obtained from a structured questionnaire personally administered by the researchers and their assistants, the research objectives were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as tables, frequencies, percentages, and maps. The findings of this study showed that knowledge of contraceptives was generally widespread, and attitude towards contraceptive tended to be positive, with a high contraceptive prevalence, although, this high rate was largely attributed to the use of traditional methods. Based on these findings, it was concluded that, high knowledge of, and positive attitudes towards contraceptives may not necessarily translate to practical use of modern contraceptives, and this may, among other reasons, be attributed to socio-cultural factors and misinformation from social media platforms, which appears to be the commonest source of contraceptive information. It was recommended that usage of modern contraception might be enhanced by mounting evidencebased re-education programmes beyond the so-called facts presented by social media platforms.

Keywords: Contraception, Knowledge, attitude and practices survey (KAP), Fertility, Population