Knowledge of emergency contraception among women aged 15-49 years in Mersin, Turkey.

Objective: To determine the knowledge of, use of and willingness to use emergency contraception (EC) among women in Turkey.

Study Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,298 women at 12 primary health care centers in Mersin. Chi-square, Student's t test, Mann-Whitney U and binary logistic regression tests were performed for statistical analysis.

Results: Overall, 18.1% of the women had heard of EC, and of those, 73.6% correctly identified the time limit for the method's use. Among women who had heard about EC, the most commonly cited source of information was health care centers. Knowledge of EC was independently associated with younger women, higher education, having received counseling about family planning, having had an unintended pregnancy, and being employed. Of women who had been sexually active, 4.4% reported having used EC.

Conclusion: These data suggest that in general a low percentage of the study population has heard of EC. Health care providers and media have an important role to play in the education of women for accurate information about EC. Providing information about EC may help to prevent some unintended pregnancies and induced abortions.