Evaluation of the knowledge levels of midwifery and nursing students on family planning

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge level of midwifery and nursing students about family planning. Materials and Methods: This research is a descriptive study. The sample of the study consisted of 281 students attending 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades in the midwifery and nursing departments of a foundation university between 01.09.2018-01.10.2018 and accepting to participate in the research. "Student Information Form" and "Knowledge Level of Family Planning Information Form" prepared by using literature information were used in data collection. Results: 96.1% of the students have nuclear family structure and 54.1% of them have one brother. 90.6% of midwifery students and 97.4% of nursing students stated that they did not receive education for family planning before university. The majority of these students learned about the family planning methods from the theoretical courses. Midwifery and nursing students reported oral contraceptive, intrauterine device and condom method as the modern method in family planning. The majority of the students stated that the methods used in family planning should be jointly decided by the spouses and the effective method for successful family planning is modern methods. More than half of midwifery and nursing students refer to the role of health personnel as a consultant in family planning. The general knowledge level of the students about family planning was found to be 13.35 ± 1.10 (Min: 11-Max: 15). It was determined that there was no significant difference between the levels of knowledge about family planning according to their gender, age, class levels, place of birth, place of residence and high school they graduated (p> 0.05). Conclusion: The knowledge levels of midwifery and nursing students about family planning were found to be high. There was no statistically significant difference between the levels