Assessment of awareness about contraception among a sample of Iraqi women using hormonal contraceptives: a cross-sectional study

Non-adherence to hormonal contraceptives is often due to lack of information, fear of adverse effects, and social and religious stigmas. The aim is to assess the women’s awareness and adherence to hormonal contraceptives among women of childbearing age and also to track the adverse effects of hormonal contraception. A cross-sectional, community-based study involved 80 women who were assessed for the level of women’s awareness and adherence using a validated Arabic questionnaire. Women had moderate levels of knowledge about hormonal contraceptives (46.25%), a neutral attitude level constituted the majority of women’s responses (52.5%), and a good practice level (53.75%). Most of the women (68.75%) had good adherence levels. Higher levels of non-adherence were associated with mood swings (84%) and depression (84%). There was a strong direct correlation between awareness score and higher adherence score. Regarding the education levels of wives, there was a direct significant correlation between awareness scores and higher adherence scores. In conclusion, the women had moderate knowledge, neutral attitudes, and good practices about contraception, mainly due to university education. Adherence to hormonal contraceptives was positively associated with good awareness.