Socio-economic correlates of contraceptive knowledge among women in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

PIP: Knowledge about contraception was examined in relation to selected socioeconomic variables. A total of 2567 currently married women aged 15-49 years residing in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya were interviewed. The majority of the women knew of at least 1 contraceptive method. An index termed Contraceptive Knowledge Score (CKS) was used to measure the level of knowledge about contraception. The CKS achieved differed significantly by age, area of residence and ethnic group. The other socioeconomic variables significantly associated with CKS are schooling, occupation, income, childhood residence and age at marriage. These relationships persisted even after adjusting for differences in age, ethnicity and area of residence. Overall the CKS attained have a wide range and there is no significant difference of the mean CKS attained, between users and non-users of contraceptives.