Hagos, Abay (2002) Assessment of the Attitudes of 15-49 Year Old Women and Men towards Legalization of Abortion in Mekelle Town, Tigray, Ethiopia. Masters thesis, Addis Ababa University.
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Abstract
A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Mekelle Town, Tigray, during December 2001 to January 2002, to assess the attitudes of 15-49 year old women and men (n=838) towards legalization of abortion. Random cluster sampling of Kebeles with systematic household selection procedure was used to include respondents. The study utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods (focus group discussions). Data for the quantitative part were collected by trained interviewers, using a pre-tested, structured questionnaire. A lifetime history of abortion was reported by 14 (6.7%) of those who previously had ever been pregnant, with 2.9 abortions/100 pregnancies. Out of the total 17 abortions, only 1 (5.9%) was reported to be induced for the purpose of terminating the pregnancy. Of all respondents, 712 (85%) perceived unsafe abortion as a major health problem in their locality. Six hundred eighty seven (82%) were aware that induced abortion is currently illegal in Ethiopia. Out of the total respondents, 473 (56.4%) preferred induced abortion on demand to be legalized, while 355 (42.4%) opposed it. The majority, 572 (68.3%) believed that legal abortion services would reduce health problems related to unsafe abortion. The majority of the focus group participants opposed legalization of induced abortion. In conclusion, the majority of the people living in the study area have positive attitudes towards legalization of induced abortion, and that significantly larger proportion of the people prefer induced abortion on demand to be legalized. Education, positive attitudes and practices on family planning, and perceiving unsafe abortion as a major health problem, are likely to vii influence positively the attitudes of people towards legalization of induced abortion, particularly in the study area. Religion, socio-cultural factors and availability of resources for service provision are also appeared to be to influence the process of legalization of induced abortion. It was also concluded that people living in the study area are aware that unsafe abortion is a major health problem in the locality; and the fact that induced abortion is illegal at present in Ethiopia. Undertaking national legal reforms on abortion to liberalize induced abortion; dissemination of information and education on risks of unsafe abortion and prevention of unwanted pregnancies and promotion of family planning in the study area; and conducting community-based studies of national representativeness on legal aspects of abortion, are recommended.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | R Medicine > R Medicine (General) R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine |
| Divisions: | Africana |
| Depositing User: | Vincent Mpoza |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Sep 2018 09:49 |
| Last Modified: | 25 Sep 2018 09:49 |
| URI: | http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/5715 |
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