Women’s Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Regarding Oral Short-Acting Contraceptives After Induced Abortion: A Cross-Sectional Study in Beijing, China

Shan He, Wei Ma, Jie Gao, Juan ZhaoDepartment of Reproduction and Obstetrics, Beijing Luhe Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 101199, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Shan He, Department of Reproduction and Obstetrics, Beijing Luhe Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 101199, People’s Republic of China, Tel +8615311209906, Email [email protected]: About half of all patients seeking abortion report having a history of prior abortions and are at high risk for repeat abortion. Data about postabortion contraception in China are limited. This study investigated the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of women undergoing induced abortion regarding postoperative oral short-acting contraceptives.Study Design: This cross-sectional study enrolled women at Beijing Luhe Hospital, Capital Medical University, from December 2023 to February 2024. The minimal calculated sample size was 385 participants. A self-administered questionnaire was developed to collect demographic information and assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding postabortion oral short-acting contraceptives. Scores > 70% of the possible maximum score of each dimension were considered as good knowledge, positive attitudes, and proactive practice.Results: Among 420 women with questionnaires passing quality control, mean knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were 5.60 ± 2.96/12 (46.67%), 31.27 ± 4.54/45 (69.49%), and 21.70 ± 2.94/25 (86.80%). Lower education (junior high school or below) was associated with lower odds of sufficient knowledge and positive attitudes. Higher knowledge scores were associated with higher odds of positive attitude. Higher knowledge and attitude scores and parity > 1 were independently associated with higher odds of adequate practice, while age 36– 39 was associated with lower odds.Conclusion: In Beijing, women after induced abortions had poor knowledge and attitudes scores, but a proactive intended practice toward short-acting contraception. Specific knowledge items were identified as requiring improvement. Educational interventions should particularly target women with a lower socioeconomic status to reduce repeated induced abortions.Keywords: knowledge, attitude, practice, health literacy, induced abortion, short-acting oral contraceptive, contraception behavior, cross-sectional study, China, family planning