To assess community awareness and practices concerning family
planning in an urban community in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a survey was carried
out in June and July 1993. Of the 536 people interviewed 332 (61.9%) had heard
about family planning. The contraceptive prevalence rate in the community was
29.5%, with oral contraceptive pills being the most popular method. Contraceptive
methods usage rate was observed to be significantly higher among people with
permanent job (OR=1.98), among highly educated (OR=3.82) and among people
with larger family size (OR=1.92) compared to the others. Health workers and
radio were the main sources of family planning information, by 70% and 20% of
the study population, respectively. The major barriers to contraceptive use were
fear of side-effects and religious taboos. Only 4% of the study population obtained
their contraceptives from hospitals and private clinics, and over 90% of the
respondents suggested that contraceptives be distributed free of charge. The
study demonstrated that there still exists a wide gap between the knowledge about
contraception and actual use. Expansion of family planning services through
inexpensive and more accessible means and strengthening of individual
counselling are recommended as ways to reduce this gap.