KNOWLEDGE ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES OF FAMILY PLANNING AMONG NURSES OF PUNJAB INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH (PIMH) LAHORE, PAKISTAN

Introduction: A review of the literature has established that there is an adequate ratio of the knowledge and awareness but the compliace regarding the contraceptive methods is poor resulting in a number of socioeconomic crisis. Newly married females are less informed and reluctant to adopt family planning approaches. That is the reason they not only hesistate to buy but are also ignorant of their usage. Most of these women host false myths and negative attitude regarding contraception. This study was designed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of family planning among nurses working in Punjab Institute of Mental Health, Lahore. Method: A self-structured questionnaire containing the sociodemographic data and the content of the study was handed over to the 100 nurses of PIMH, Lahore during August 2019 and November 2019. Result: All the participants had heard about family planning methods. The key sources of the information were their instructors (82%). About 84% of the study participants marked correct options regarding various types of contraceptives. About 72% of the respondents had a positive attitude towards the available family planning methods. Around 76% of the study participants had or was practicing one or more methods of contraception at

the time of the study. Conclusion: Our study revealed that although the extent of knowledge and attitude regarding family planning approaches was satisfactory but the compliance was quite low among the nurses of the PIMH, Lahore. In order to inculcate positive attitude and enlighten the masses regarding the usefulness of the contraceptive methods, the nurses working in dfferent departments acrss the country need to be trained and taught so that the can trickle down the benefits to the the candidates and lift the socioeconomic outlook of the country.

Keywords: Family planning, population, contraceptives