AWARENESS, ATTITUDE, BELIEFS AND PRACTICES OF FAMILY PLANNING IN ISHAKA DIVISION. Family planning encompasses the different ways and methods people use to plan for their family size. It goes beyond birth control to refer to a variety of issues that influence their choice of family planning, including awareness, attitudes and beliefs towards family planning. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey, done to assess the awareness attitudes, beliefs and practices of family planning in Ishaka division. The specific objectives were to examine the awareness of family planning, the impact of people’s attitudes and beliefs on family planning usage and the challenges faced in the use of family planning. A random sampling method was used to select 80 participants into the study; data was collected by use of self administered questionnaires. Close-ended questions were used. The study showed that majority of the respondents ranged between the ages limits of 30-45 which was 44 (55%). According to the research findings Catholics made up the majority of the respondent with 38 (47.5%). Most of the respondents 79(98.75%) had ever heard about family planning while only 1(1.25%) had never heard about family planning. Both men and women were used in the research study and were selected at random. According to the research 69(86.25%) respondents interviewed had positive attitude towards family planning and said it was important. 11(13.75%) had negative attitude due to myth, beliefs and misconception about family planning, saying it was not important. The religious belief pertaining family planning contributed to low utilization of family planning methods. It was however noted that even some of those who had negative attitudes towards family planning still practiced it. Challenges concerning the use of family planning were also noted and these include; financial issues, long distances to service centers, rude health workers among others. Thus family planning is a sensitive issue that requires more emphasis to increase awareness and address the negative attitudes and beliefs that exist in the community. It is recommended that there should be more sensitization to address the negative attitude and beliefs and that family planning should be a topic for all people of reproductive age.
