Effectiveness of an educational program in raising women’s knowledge and awareness about family planning methods in a rural area

Background Family planning is currently one of the most successful development interventions, with likely benefits on maternal and child health outcomes, educational advances, economic development, and welfare. Purpose To evaluate the effectiveness of an educational program in raising women’s knowledge and awareness about family planning methods in a rural area. Patients and methods Research design: a quasi-experimental research design (one group pre–posttest) was used. Settings: the study was carried out at primary health centers in Shebin Elkom district, Menoufia governorate, Egypt. Sample: a total of 150 married women of reproductive age who attended family planning clinics were recruited at convenience. Tools for data collection: tool I; an interviewing questionnaire that contained sociodemographic data and history. Tool II; pre–post knowledge test about family planning methods. Results There were highly statistically significant differences in women’s knowledge and awareness about family planning methods at the pre–posttest among the studied women, with P value less than 0.000. There was a significant correlation and statistically significant difference in the women’s total score and their ages at P value less than 0.05. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between the total knowledge score of the women studied and their educational level. Conclusion An educational program significantly improves knowledge and awareness of women about all types of contraceptive methods. Recommendation: educational programs should be provided to all women about the safety and convenience of modern, long-term, reversible methods of contraception. Family planning counseling needs to be universally included in all clinics that focus on women health.