Knowledge, Awareness, Perceptions, and Use of Emergency Contraceptives among Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

Table 2

Emergency contraception awareness, knowledge, perceptions, and likelihood of use in the future for the sample.

EC Awareness/Knowledge*	Total Sample (𝑛=154)
Unaware	33.8%
Low Knowledge	51.3%
High Knowledge	14.9%
Likelihood of future EC use	57.0%
Reasons for not using EC in the future
Believe partner would not approve	42.2%
Donot know where to get it	26.6%
Lack of transportation	17.5%
Lack of money to buy it	37.7%
Believe she could not tolerate side effects	27.3%
Has moral or religious objections	31.8%
Knowledge among those aware of EC	𝑁=102
If a woman is already pregnant EC will cause an abortion	62.7%
EC may cause problems with becoming pregnant later	49.0%
Perceptions among those aware of EC
Believe that EC is effective	87.3%
Believe that EC is safe	61.8%

*“Those unaware answered no or donot know to the questions, “if a woman has just had sex and thinks that she might become pregnant, is there anything she can do in the next few days to prevent pregnancy?” and, “have you ever heard of morning-after pills, also called emergency contraceptive pills?” Low knowledge and high knowledge indicate the woman was aware of EC and correctly answered at least of 2 or 3 of the 4 questions on EC knowledge (i.e., prescription required, correct timing after unprotected sex, does not cause abortion, and does not cause problems with pregnancy in the future), respectively.