Introduction:

Contraception corresponds to the use of methods and techniques with the purpose of preventing sexual intercourse from resulting in pregnancy. The resident physician in gynecology and obstetrics must be intimately familiar with the multiple existing contraceptive options, how to use them, their side effects and contraindications.

Objectives:

To identify the level of knowledge, attitude and practice among Gynecology and Obstetrics residents in the state of Pernambuco regarding contraception, determine their self-perception in indicating and contraindicating contraceptive methods, evaluating the best clinical indications, how to prescribe them and offer guidance for their use.

Methods:

A cross-sectional survey study with an analytical component. During the period from May to July 2022, a test was applied to the target population, composed by resident physicians of Gynecology and Obstetrics in the state of Pernambuco. A sample size of 157 responses was obtained, which were analyzed in the program STATA statistics, version 12.0.

Results:

The contraceptive methods most used by the resident physicians were the ACO, Mirena IUD, penile condom and copper IUD. More than 90% of the sample claimed to know the Eligibility Criteria and the Pearl Index, and just over half correctly answered the clinical cases on contraception; 52.9% reported not using double protection and 40.1% of the sample stated that they never used condoms. Most interviewees attested to having a good practice with LARC and with surgical sterilization; a good portion of the interviewed residents considered themselves able to guide all contraceptive methods.

Conclusion:

The knowledge of indications and contraindications can be considered satisfactory, despite a disparity between self-perceived knowledge and correct answers to questions regarding specific clinical cases; regarding attitude, the answers were controversial; within the scope of practice, the best results of self-perceived ability were obtained, with emphasis on the practice with LARC and surgical sterilization. Self-assessments showed that more than half of the sample considered their knowledge, attitudes and practices very satisfactory and/or adequate.

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