Objectives: To assess the attitudes of physicians providing family planning services at the public sector in
Egypt about recommending intrauterine device (IUD) for family planning clients, and to identify the factors
that could affect their attitudes.
Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study, in which all the physicians providing family planning services
in Assiut Governorate were invited to complete self-administered questionnaires. The study participants
were recruited at the family planning sector monthly meetings of the 13 health directorates of
Assiut Governorate, Upper Egypt. 250 physicians accepted to participate in the study. Bivariate and
Multivariate regression analyses were performed to identify the most important predictors of recommending
IUD to family planning clients when appropriate.
Results: Less than 50% of physicians would recommend IUD for clients with proper eligibility criteria;
women younger than 20 years old (49.2%), women with history of ectopic pregnancy (34%), history of
pelvic inflammatory diseases (40%) or sexually transmitted diseases (18.4%) and nulliparous women
(22.8%). Receiving family planning formal training within the year preceding data collection and working
in urban areas were the significant predictors of recommending IUD insertion for appropriate clients.
Conclusion: Physicians providing family planning services in Upper Egypt have negative attitudes about
recommending IUD for family planning clients. Continuous education and in-service training about the
updated medical eligibility criteria, especially for physicians working in rural areas may reduce the
unfounded medical restrictions for IUD use.