Knowledge and opinions of medical staff on Natural Fertility Awareness Methods

Abstrakt

Introduction: One of the professional tasks of the medical staff (midwives, nurses and doctors) is health education and health promotion, with particular emphasis on procreation health. The above-mentioned professional groups should be the first to promote the knowledge about the natural methods of fertility awareness, as well as, the first source of reliable education in this field. Aims of the study: to determine what level of knowledge and what opinions about natural methods of fertility awareness present medical staff. Materials and method: the study was made with the diagnostic survey method, using a questionnaire. A research tool was a self-constructed questionnaire with 40 questions - close-ended and semi-closed, of a single choice and multiple choice. The study group included 100 people - the medical staff from Warsaw hospitals. Results: The largest group of the respondents (64%) shows the knowledge on the average level. More than half of the respondents (51%) declare to be interested in the issues of human fertility. More than half of the tested people say (51%), that the natural methods are not popular in their environment.  1/3 of the respondents thinks that the NFAMs are not the same as contraception. For 57% of the respondents, natural methods are effective in recognizing fertility. The substantial majority of the respondents (69%) agree with the statement that the observation of symptoms requires commitment, but it becomes easier over time. 39% of the respondents claim that natural methods are out-dated and old-fashioned. Almost all of the respondents (92%) agree that stress, bad nutrition, drugs have an impact on human fertility. 75% believe the NFAMs promote self-awareness of a body and health. More than a half (58%) claims that the NFAMs help with early diagnoses and treat gynecological abnormalities. The major group of the respondents gained the knowledge about the natural methods of fertility awareness from schools or university studies (68%). Conclusions: The knowledge of medical staff on natural methods of fertility awareness is at the average level. The respondents’ opinions on the natural methods of fertility are divided. The main source of knowledge for medical staff about the NFAMs is education at school or university studies. These methods should be promoted among the medical staff, who due to professional functions are obliged to teach about health education also in the field of procreation health.