Population Policies and Programmes in Singapore

7. Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice

By: ROS Size: 6" x 9" J/No: 05-10631 Fonts: Eras, GarthGraphic 7 Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice In this chapter the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of married women in respect of family planning, abortion, sterilization, and government population policies will be examined. The source of data for this study is the First National Survey on Family Planning conducted in 1973 on a sample basis. By means of a two-stage stratified sample design, a slightly less than 1 per cent sample of 2,167 married women aged fifteen to forty-four were selected for the survey which was conducted from 7 to 29 September 1973. During this period, 2,078 of the selected women were successfully interviewed and the remaining 89 were refusals and non-contact cases, giving a response rate of 96 per cent which is quite satisfactory as compared to similar surveys conducted in other countries. During the data processing stage a few completed questionnaires had to be rejected for various reasons and the number finally accepted for tabulation amounted to 2,076. A wealth of information pertaining to these 2,076 married women was published in the report, but only the more important features that are relevant to this study will be discussed here.1 FAMILY PLANNING In the survey the respondents were asked the number of birth control methods they had heard about but need not necessarily know how to use. Some 97.4 per cent of the 2,076 married women replied that they have heard of at least one contraceptive method. This is a very satisfactory figure as compared to the corresponding proportion of 94.7 per cent in Japan (1973)2 and 84.5 per cent in Peninsular Malaysia (1970).3 The 93 07 PP&P Pt 1/Ch 7 16/5/05, 3:08 PM 93 94 POPULATION POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES IN SINGAPORE almost universal knowledge of contraceptive methods among Singapore women is not surprising in view of the continuous clinical, information and educational activities of the Family Planning Association since 1949 and subsequently the SFPPB since 1966. In addition, there is the high literacy rate and excellent mass communications channels in a small compact cosmopolitan community. The detailed figures in Table 7.1 show that contraceptive knowledge has indeed permeated all strata of the community. The married women in each of the three main races experienced equally high levels of contraceptive knowledge, above 97 per cent, and so did the married women in each of the three age groups. More revealing features are brought out by the figures according to education; here the proportion reached 100 per cent for married women with tertiary education. It decreased very slowly the lower the educational level, but then even those without any formal education experienced contraceptive knowledge TABLE 7.1 Proportion of Married Women Who Had Heard of and Who Knew How to Use at Least One Contraceptive Method by Race, Age, and Education, 1973 Characteristics Heard of at Least Know How to Use at One Method Least One Method Total 97.8 87.7 Race Chinese 97.4 87.6 Malays 98.4 88.4 Indians 98.7 84.2 Age Group 15–24 97.7 87.4 25–34 98.5 90.5 35–44 97.0 84.3 Education No formal education 97.3 84.8 Primary 98.3 87.4 Secondary 97.8 91.4 Post-secondary 97.1 97.1 Tertiary 100.0 100.0 07 PP&P Pt 1/Ch 7 16/5/05, 3:08 PM 94 7. Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice 95 of as high as 97.3 per cent. Additional evidence of the high level of contraceptive knowledge may be seen in the proportion of married women who have heard of specific methods of birth control. The proportions approached 94.9 per cent for the pill, 80.7 per cent for the condom, and 50.7 per cent for the IUD. The ability to use contraceptive methods is also quite high among the married women, as can also be observed in Table 7.1. Some 87.7 per cent replied that they knew how to use one or more methods of birth control. Among the three main races, the Malay women had the highest proportion (88.4 per cent), and the Indian women the lowest proportion (84.2 per cent), with the Chinese women occupying an intermediate position (87.6 per cent). These differentials are small and without...