Emergency contraception: Awareness, perception and practice among female undergraduates in imo state university, southeastern Nigeria

Abstract

Background:Limited knowledge and practice of contraception is a global public health problem. Unintended pregnancies are the primary cause of induced abortion. When safe abortions are not available, as in Nigeria with restricted abortion laws, abortion can contribute significantly to maternal mortality and morbidity. Adequate information on the awareness and the use of emergency contraception is necessary for planning interventions in groups vulnerable to unwanted pregnancy.Aim:The aim of the following study is to access the awareness, perception and practice of emergency contraception among female undergraduates in Imo State University, South Eastern Nigeria.Subjects and Methods:A questionnaire based cross-sectional survey using female undergraduates selected randomly from Imo State University, Owerri.Results:A total of 700 students participated in the study. Awareness of emergency contraception was very high (85.1%) (596/700). The awareness was significantly higher amongst students in health related faculties than in the non-health related faculties (P = 0.01). The main sources of information were through friends (43.1%) (317/700) and lectures (22.1%) (192/700). High dose progestogen (postinor-2) was the most commonly known type of emergency contraception (70.8%) (422/596). Only 58.1% (346/596) of those who were aware of emergency contraception approved of their use. The major reasons given by the 41.9% (250/596) who disapproved of their use were religious reasons (50.4%) (126/250) and that they were harmful to health (49.2%) (123/250). Two-third (67%) (46 9/700) of the students were sexually active and only 39.9% (187/469) of them used emergency contraception. High dose progestogen (postinor-2) was again the most commonly used method (70.8%) (422/596). The most common situation in which emergency contraception was used was following unprotected sexual intercourse (45.5%) (85/144). Only 34.6% (206/596) of those who were aware of emergency contraception identified correctly the appropriate time interval for its effectiveness.Conclusion:Although the awareness of emergency contraception was high amongst female undergraduates, the attitude and practice are still poor. The inclusion of reproductive health education as part of the undergraduate school curriculum might help to change students’ attitude toward emergency contraceptives.

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“…These findings of this study indicated that the knowledge and awareness of birth control of pharmacy students at LHU were lower than the rates reported in other studies in Malaysia, [14] Nigeria, [23,24] and South Africa. [25] However, increasing levels of awareness can be attributed to the increasing use of social networks/media, which was identified as one of the main sources of knowledge in this study.…”

Emergency contraception: Knowledge and practice among women and the spouses seeking termination of pregnancy

“…Inclusion of reproductive health education as part of the school curriculum might help to change the attitude. 20 Couples should be encouraged to use regular and emergency contraceptive to reduce induced abortions, both legal and illegal. 21 This can be achieved by providing information about the available contraceptive methods and helping couples to choose what suits them.…”

Knowledge of and Utilization of Emergency Contraceptive and Its Associated Factors among Women Seeking Induced Abortion in Public Hospitals, Eastern Tigray, Ethiopia, 2017: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Most of the deaths that occur in developing countries are due to the lack of accessibility and availability of reproductive health services, especially family planning. Utilization of emergency contraceptive may play vital role in decreasing abortion and its complications [13].…”