Contraceptives Informatics Expert System Model

Abstract

Despite widespread awareness of contraceptive methods and their effectiveness, their utilization remains low, which is attributed in part to misconceptions and inadequate recommendations. Studies have shown that not all contraceptives have side effects, and only a few women who use contraceptives have discomfort. A lack of adequate recommendations, counsel and perceptions are mitigating the willingness to use contraceptives. The increase in the Nigerian population growth rate calls for prompt and adequate responses to regulate birth control. This study addresses this gap by developing a rule-based contraceptive informatics expert system. Primary data on contraceptive discomfort were collected, and knowledge from various sources, including human experts and medical websites, was extracted. Feature engineering was employed to select relevant variables for model development. The system, implemented using Java programming, provides user-friendly interfaces and accurately displays contraceptive discomfort based on patient blood type. Our findings suggest that an expert system has the potential to increase willingness to use contraceptives. We recommend the adoption of technology-aided tools by governments to provide precise and accurate contraceptive recommendations