Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and utilization of post abortion care among women of reproductive age (15 – 49 years) in Obanliku Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. The research utilized a descriptive survey design and a sample size of 350 women of reproductive age (15 – 49), selected from each of the 10 communities in the area. A structured questionnaire was used as instrument to collect data. Information obtained from the questionnaire was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21. Descriptive statistics in terms of mean and standard deviation were used; while one way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test hypotheses. The findings of the study showed that majority 253(72.3%) of the respondents had understanding of what post abortion care is. Majority264(75.4%) had understanding that family planning can prevent death arising from unsafe abortion. Majority 88(48.4%) who had miscarriage/abortion did not use any health facility. Only few used the hospital. Majority 88(48.4) did not use any method of family planning. Reasons such as distance to the health facility, cost of obtaining PAC services, husband’s support and availability of health care services provider influenced non-use of post abortion care services. There was significant mean difference in women’s understanding of post abortion care due to their educational qualification (P < .05, Critical F = 2.37). There was also a significant difference in the mean use of post abortion care services based on their occupation. (P < .05, critical F = 2.37). Based on these findings, it was recommended that PAC should be made one key component base service delivery to improve training of community based health care providers, case identification and referral while intervention needs to be put in place by stakeholders.
