Table 2.
Awareness, knowledge and use of emergency contraception among sexually active women attending public sector clinics in the Western Cape Province, South Africa; all cells are N (%)
| Characteristic | Urban Region N = 624 | Rural Region N = 207 | Total N = 831 |
| Spontaneously mentioned EC as something that can be done after unprotected sex to try to prevent pregnancy | 111 (18) | 15 (7) | 126 (15) |
| Heard of EC when asked directly | 219 (35) | 34 (17) | 253 (30) |
| Among those who have heard of EC | |||
| Did not know if EC available at public clinics | 79 (36) | 14 (41) | 93 (37) |
| Thought EC were not available at public clinics | 19 (9) | 2 (6) | 21 (8) |
| Ever been told about EC by health care provider | 53 (24) | 11 (32) | 64 (25) |
| Did not know about time interval for use | 160 (73) | 30 (88) | 190 (75) |
| Ever used EC | 31 (14.0) | 3 (9) | 34 (13) |
| Ever used EC, total sample | 31 (5) | 3 (1) | 34 (4) |
| Among those who have ever used EC | |||
| Number of times used EC | |||
| Once | 23 (74) | 3 (100) | 26 (76) |
| More than once | 8 (26) | 0 | 8 (24) |
| Source of EC at last use | |||
| Public clinic | 0 | 1 (33.3) | 1 (3) |
| Private doctor/clinic | 15 (48) | 1 (33.3) | 16 (47) |
| Pharmacy | 14 (45) | 1 (33.3) | 15 (44) |
| Hospital or district surgeon for rape | 2 (6) | 0 | 2 (6) |