Knowledge and attitude regarding emergency contraceptive pills among midwives in distric Haripur, Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa

Induced abortions due to unintended pregnancies have become a public health concern globally. Emergency contraception (EC) is a backup method used within 120 hours of unprotected sex to avoid unintended pregnancies. Objective This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge and attitude of midwives regarding ECPs and to find the association between the level of knowledge and attitude. Methodology A cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study design was used to answer the study questions. A structured study tool was used to collect the data from 140 midwives working in public or private settings at the time of the data collection phase. The data was entered and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 19. The Chi square test was used to find an association between attitude and knowledge. Results The findings of the present study revealed that the majority of the midwives had poor to moderate knowledge about EC. The mean knowledge score of the midwives was 8.3 +2.12, ranging from 3 to 13. In the present study, 31.42% of the midwives displayed good knowledge; while 35.7% and 32.85% displayed moderate and poor knowledge respectively. Thus, only a small proportion, i.e., 31.42% of the midwives had good knowledge. Among the three cadres, a high proportion (50.9%) of LHVs had a good knowledge score about ECPs. The majority of the midwives had a positive attitude towards EC. The study found an insignificant association between attitude and the level of knowledge among midwives. Conclusion The present study concluded that the level of knowledge about ECPs among midwives was inadequate. This study has provided a basis for further inquiry for the assessment of counseling about ECPs during routine visit/family planning counseling. The government and NGOs should plan in-service trainings on ECPs to educatemidwives, in order to improve the quality of their knowledge about ECPs