Background: Levonorgestrel and ulipristal acetate are common emergency oral contraceptives (EOCs). Lack of knowledge and negative attitude toward EOCs pose barriers to the EOCs access and utilization.
Aim: This study aimed to summarize the studies on the knowledge and attitudes of healthcare providers and patients on the use of EOCs.
Method: A systematic search was conducted from conception to April 2022 using the following databases: CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Thai Journal Online. Data were extracted independently and were meta-analyzed using DerSimonian and Laird method for the binary random-effects model.
Results: 121 articles with a total number of 92,484 participants were included. The awareness of levonorgestrel as an EOC was 66.7% while the awareness of ulipristal acetate as an EOC was 36.9%. EOCs users received EOC information mainly from the internet, media, and friends. We found that 32.2% of EOCs users and providers agreed that EOCs acted post-fertilization, and 39.8% of the prescribers know the correct time to take the pill postcoital. Negative attitudes toward EOC use were found in 25.4% of the participants. For example, 39.4% of the participants agreed that EOCs users had increased sexual activity.
Conclusion: The awareness of EOCs was low and misunderstandings or negative attitudes towards the use or prescription of EOCs were still prevalent. Educating healthcare providers, using media as educational tools, and improving education and economics can be useful in improving EOC users' awareness, knowledge, and attitude towards EOCs.
Keywords: Attitude; Awareness; Knowledge; Levonorgestrel; Postcoital contraceptives.
© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.