Knowledge and determinants of emergency contraception use among students in tertiary institution in Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

A B S T R A C TBackground: Emergency contraception (EC) or postcoital contraception has the potential to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and thus the abortion rate. Tertiary institutions' students are a unique group with very high social interaction, but by virtue of their level of education, probably forms a group in any community, which should have an overall higher level of awareness and use of available methods of contraception, including that of EC. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude toward EC, and as well to determine the prevalence of emergency contraceptive use among the students of tertiary institutions in Osun State, Nigeria. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study using the self-administered structured questionnaire on questions relating to the socio-demographic characteristics of the students, sexual relations, knowledge of contraception in general and EC, use and determinants of EC use. Results: A total of 384 of the 400 questionnaire were returned of which male respondents were178/384 (46.4%) while the females were 206/384 (53.6%). Two hundred and seven respondents 207/384 (53.9%) were university students, while 177/384 (46.1%) were polytechnic students. Most respondent 142/376 (37.8%) derived knowledge of EC from friends and family life education from school 186/373 (49.9%). More than half of respondents are in sexual relationships, with only 71/384 (18.5%) showing good knowledge of EC. However, use of EC was 106/384 (27.6%). Conclusion: Most tertiary institutions' students are involved in a sexual relationship, have poor knowledge of EC and use of EC also. Formal family life education, partner approval, and previous use of EC encourage further use. There is a need for carefully designed education programs and promotion of family life education with deliberate awareness on safe sex practices, including EC in existing students' health enlightenment programs on campuses.

Awareness and practice of emergency contraception at a private university in Nigeria

“…Only a fifth of students knew the correct timing of EC usage. This is in line with reports from sister public universities [ 14 , 20 ]. It is possible that distorted information about EC was obtained from such sources as peers and magazines or other media.…”

Peer-driven contraceptive choices and preferences for contraceptive methods among students of tertiary educational institutions in Enugu, Nigeria

“…This finding agrees with the results of previous studies in Nigeria which have documented rates of sexual activity among students of tertiary educational institutions ranging from 50%–86% 2,7,8,11,14. The level of sexual activity in this study is, however, specific to unmarried students unlike some previous studies which made no distinction between married and unmarried students 2,7,8,10,15,16. The high level of sexual activity makes this group of students a suitable sample to study contraceptive use.…”

Determinants of emergency contraception non-use among women in unplanned or ambivalent pregnancies

“…These women presented a 3.52 odds of not employing EC to prevent the ongoing pregnancy than women who had already used it, as described elsewhere (19,28,29) . This may be related to the fact that women who successfully experienced using EC may be more motivated to resort to this method again in case they need.…”