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Background The floating population serves an important role in economic and social development. However, little is known about the floating population’s reproductive health (RH) services, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to assess the use of reproductive health services in the female floating population in China, which is a country with the largest floating population in the world. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted for more than 3 months. Six hundred twenty females of childbearing age in a floating population were recruited into the study by using random sampling, with these individuals being recruited from six community centres in Changsha, China. The use of reproductive health services was assessed by utilizing a self-designed questionnaire. Results A total of 555 participants returned the completed questionnaires (effective response rate of 89.5%), including 405 married women and 150 unmarried women. The utilization of RH services was poor in individuals who could access RH policies (39.3%), RH education (36.4%), RH counselling (27.4%), gratis contraceptives (36.0%), and free RH examinations (38.9%), and married women utilized these services at higher rates than unmarried women ( P < 0.01), although 63.3% of the unmarried women had sexual lifestyles. The marital status was significantly associated with receiving RH education, RH counselling, gratis contraceptives, and free RH examinations. Age was significantly associated with the use of RH education and free RH examinations. The average personal monthly income had a significantly beneficial effect on the use of free RH examinations. Obstetrics and gynaecological disease prevention (67.2%) were the greatest needs of the RH services, and the use of the Internet was the best way to obtain these services. Most of the individuals (77.3%) hoped to receive gynaecological health screenings that were provided by obstetrics and gynaecology hospitals. Conclusions The female floating population exhibited poor awareness of RH and rarely used RH services, especially in unmarried women. The results suggest that educational interventions for the female floating population, as well as policy and resource developments should meet the demands for RH services, which are urgently needed in China. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-019-4334-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Reproductive health is the core science of human life and is critical to the healthy and sustainable development of human society. Since 1980, China has enforced a “one child” policy. With the implementation of the Universal Two-Child Policy in 2016, every couple is allowed to have two children instead of one, which will lead to more pregnancies, births, and advanced maternal age. Thus, women aged 20–39 years, at the peak of sexual activity and fertility, will face more reproductive health problems related to pregnancies and births. This study aimed to investigate the current reproductive health status, knowledge, and factors associated with reproductive health knowledge among women aged 20–39 years in rural China. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in five villages of five cities in China. The data were collected using pre-tested and structured questionnaires through face-to-face interviews. The data were entered into Epidata version 3.0, and analyzed using SPSS version 18.0. A descriptive summary of the data and logistic regression were used to identify associated factors. Results One-third of the participants reported that they had suffered from gynecopathy, and 38.89% of participants with gynecopathy-related discomfort did not seek medical treatment. Condoms and intrauterine devices were the main contraceptive measures used, and 28.70% of women had a history of induced abortion. Over half of the respondents (53.00%) were classified as having a low reproductive health knowledge score. Factors associated with lower knowledge levels were lower education, no history of gynecopathy, and lack of acquiring knowledge from medical staff, WeChat/micro-blog, or the internet. Conclusion A poor reproductive health situation and low level of health knowledge were found among women aged 20–39 years in rural China. More specific interventions promoting reproductive health and targeting rural women aged 20–39 years are needed.

Background: Fertility knowledge is vital to the fertility health of young people and greatly impacts their fertility choices. Delayed childbearing has been increasing in high-income countries, accompanied by the risk of involuntary childlessness or having fewer children than desired. The aim of this study was to investigate knowledge about fertility issues, the related influencing factors, the method of acquiring fertility knowledge, and the relationship between fertility knowledge and fertility intentions among college students. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey of Chinese college students was conducted in Hunan Province from March to April 2018. A total of 867 college students from three comprehensive universities responded to a poster invitation utilizing the Chinese version of the Cardiff Fertility Knowledge Scale (CFKS-C). Data were explored and analysed by SPSS (version 22.0) software. Descriptive statistics, chi-squared tests, T-tests, and Pearson's correlations were used for the measurements. Results: The average percent-correct score on the CFKS-C was 49.9% (SD = 20.8), with greater knowledge significantly related to living in a city district, being not single status, majoring in medicine, being in year 4 or above of study, and intention to have children (all p<0.05). A total of 81.9% of the participants reported that they would like to have children, the average score of the importance of childbearing was 6.3 (SD = 2.7), and the female score was lower than the male score (p = 0.001). A small positive relationship was observed between the CFKS-C and the importance of childbearing (r = 0.074, p = 0.035). Respondents indicated that they gained most of their knowledge from the media and internet (41.4%) and from schools (38.2%). Conclusion: Yong people in college have a modest level of fertility knowledge, a relatively low intention to have a child, and deficiencies in fertility health education. There is a need to improve the accessibility of fertility health services by developing a scientific and reliable fertility health promotion strategy.