# Sexual and reproductive health rights: A cross-sectional study of knowledge and practice among the married women of reproductive age residing in Besishahar Municipality, Nepal

## TL;DR

This study examines the knowledge and practice of sexual and reproductive health rights among married women in Nepal, finding that many lack adequate understanding and need community-level support.

## Contribution

The study identifies key factors like age at marriage and economic status influencing SRHR knowledge and practice in a specific Nepalese community.

## Key findings

- 47.7% of women had adequate SRHR knowledge, and 41.5% had good practice.
- Women married at or above 18 years were more likely to have better knowledge and practice.
- Economic status and employment sector significantly influenced SRHR knowledge and practice.

## Abstract

Married women of reproductive age (MWRA) can experience violations of their sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR). Adequate knowledge and understanding of SRRs are critical to their ability to protect themselves. This study assessed the knowledge and practice of SRHRs among the MWRA residing in Besishahar Municipality. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the 342 MWRA in Besishahar Municipality using a pre-tested structured questionnaire through face-to-face interview. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS IBM version 16. The logistic regression model was applied to examine the factors associated with the outcome variable using an adjusted odds ratio with a 95% CI, and a p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Among the respondents, 47.7% had adequate knowledge on SRHR and 41.5% had good practice. Women married at age ≥ 18 years were 2.075 times more likely to have adequate knowledge of SRHR compared to women who had early marriages (<18 years) (aOR=2.075, 95% CI = 1.16-3.69) while women married at age ≥ 18 years were 1.82 times likely to had good practice than those married at age 18 years (aOR=1.82, 95% CI = 1.02-3.24). Respondents involved in formal sectors were 1.834 times more likely to have adequate knowledge of SRHR compared to informal sectors (aOR=1.834, 95% CI = 1.15-2.90) which was (aOR=1.518, 95% CI = 0.96-2.39) in case of good practice. The odds of having adequate knowledge was 2.51 among the respondents who were above the poverty line (aOR=2.511, 95%CI = 1.52-4.14). MWRA who had adequate knowledge of SRHR were 3.234 times more likely to have good practice of SRHR compared to women who had inadequate knowledge of SRHR (aOR=3.234, 95% CI = 1.85-6.56). A large proportion of married women of reproductive age did not have adequate knowledge about SRHR, and their practice was poor. So intervention focusing on the promotion of knowledge on SRHR is essential at the community level.