Promotion of students’ knowledge and utilization of the Billings Ovulation Method of natural fertility management: An experimental study.

Abstract

This study investigated two teaching methods of enhancing the knowledge and use of the Billings’ Ovulation Method (BOM) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. A sample of 60 male and female post-graduate students was used in a quasi-experimental post-test only control group design. Two experimental groups were evaluated based on a test that was written after exposure to either direct teaching or self-directed learning. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the data. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the performances of the different groups. For triangulation purposes, the Friedman tests and the Wilcoxon singed ranks tests were also used to analyse the data. The results indicated that when teaching, BOM as a lecture method produces a higher performance as compared to assigning homework. Participants that engaged in self-directed learning perform better in comparison with those that were not exposed to any teaching method. It was concluded that the results of the study concur with the findings of existing literature that for people to adopt the use of BOM, they require active teaching on an ongoing basis until they are competent to continue independently. Furthermore, the results of the current study reveal that assigning homework can be used for those people who are not able to attend classes due to time factors. Based on these findings, a number of recommendations were made on how to improve policy and practice people’s use of the BOM. These included a strong need for the adoption and use of the BOM in South Africa, a call for stakeholders in the health sector and government can contribute to the enhancement of the knowledge and use of BOM. The Department of Health and maternity clinics can take on the initiative of encouraging the use of BOM and providing many fertility management options to adults in Africa to improve contraception and reduction of sexually transmitted diseases in South Africa.