Assessing knowledge, attitude, and practice of emergency contraception: a cross- sectional study among Ethiopian undergraduate female students

BMC Public Health

Benedict O Asamoah¹  Karen O Petterson¹  Kontie M Moussa¹  Fatuma A Ahmed² 

[1] Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Division of Social Medicine and Global Health, Lund University, Malmö University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden;International Master Programme in Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Malmö University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden

关键词: Ethiopia;    Addis Ababa University;    Practice;    Attitude;    Knowledge;    Emergency contraception;   

Others  :  1163865
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-12-110

 received in 2011-11-14, accepted in 2012-02-09,  发布年份 2012

【 摘 要 】

Background

Emergency contraception (EC) is a type of modern contraception which is indicated after unprotected sexual intercourse when regular contraception is not in use. The importance of EC is evident in preventing unintended pregnancies and its ill consequences like unintended child delivery or unsafe abortion, which are the most common causes of maternal mortality. Therefore, EC need to be available and used appropriately as a backup in case regular contraception is not used, misused or failed. Knowing that Ethiopia is one of the countries with highest maternal mortality rate, this study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of EC, and to further elucidate the relationship between these factors and some socioeconomic and demographic characteristics among female undergraduate students of Addis Ababa University (AAU). This information will contribute substantially to interventions intended to combat maternal mortality.

Methods

A Cross-sectional quantitative study among 368 AAU undergraduate students was conducted using self-administered questionnaire. Study participants were selected by stratified random sampling. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS Version 17. Results were presented using descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation and logistic regression.

Results

Among the total participants (n = 368), only 23.4% were sexually active. Majority (84.2%) had heard of EC; 32.3% had a positive attitude towards it. The main source of information reported by the respondents was Media (69.3%). Among those who were sexually active, about 42% had unprotected sexual intercourse. Among those who had unprotected sexual intercourse, 75% had ever used EC. Sexually active participants had significantly better attitude towards EC than sexually inactive participants (crude OR 0.33(0.15-0.71)); even after adjusting for possible confounders such as age, region, religion, ethnicity, marital status, department and family education and income (adj. OR 0.36(0.15-0.86)).

Conclusions

The study showed high EC awareness and usage in contrast to other studies in the city, which could be due to the fact that university students are relatively in a better educational level. Therefore, it is highly recommended that interventions intended to combat maternal mortality through contraceptive usage need to be aware of such information specific to the target groups.

【 授权许可】

   
2012 Ahmed et al; BioMed Central Ltd.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Neinstein LS, Gordon MC, Katzman KD, Rosen SD, Woods RE: Adolescent Health Care: a practical guide. 5th edition. Edited by Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. Philadelphia; 2008:533-649.
• [2]Szarewski A, Guillebaud J: Contraception: A users guid. 3rd edition. New York: Edited by Oxford University press; 2002.
• [3]WHO: Contraception: Issues in adolescent health and development. [http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2004/9241591447_eng.pdf] webciteGeneva; 2004.
• [4]Mohammed S, Hossain I, Khan ME, Rahman M, Sabastian MP: Emergency contraceptive pills. [http://www.cecinfo.org/UserFiles/File/Frontiers%20Asia%20ECP_manual2.pdf] webciteSouth east Asia Regional training manual USAID, Population Council Frontiers; 2005.
• [5]WHO and Gutmacher Institute: Facts on induced abortion world wide. [http:/ / www.searo.who.int/ LinkFiles/ Publications_Facts_on_Induced_Abort ion_Worldwide.pdf] webcite 2007.
• [6]Grimes AD, Benson J, Singh S, Romero B, Ganatra B, Okonofua EF, Shah HI: Unsafe abortion: The preventable Pandemic. Sexual and Reproductive health series, the Lancet 2006, 368(1908-1919):5-7.
• [7]Chowdhury Sadia: The World Bank's Reproductive Health Action Plan 2010-2015. [http:/ / siteresources.worldbank.org/ INTPRH/ Resources/ 376374- 1261312056980/ 120109RHAPPresentation.pdf] webciteDraft for discussion: Health Nutrition and Population (HNP) World Bank; 2009.
• [8]Mangiaterra V, Pendse R, Mclure K, Rosen J: Adolescent pregnancy. [http://www.who.int/making_pregnancy_safer/documents/mpsnnotes_2_lr.pdf] webciteDepartment of making pregnancy safer (MPS) WHO MPS note; 2008., 1(1)
• [9]WHO: Country Cooperation Strategy at a glance: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. [http://www.afro.who.int/en/ethiopia/country-cooperation-strategy.html] webcite 2009.
• [10]Survey of unsafe abortion in selected health facilities in Ethiopia Ethiopian Journal of reproductive health 2007, 1(1):28-43.
• [11]Worku A, Addisie M: Sexual violence among female high school students Debark. North West Ethiopia East Afr Med J 2002, 79(2):96-9.
• [12]Dessalegn B: Assessment of Knowledge, attitude and practices on emergency contraception among women seeking post abortion care in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. [http://etd.aau.edu.et/dspace/handle/123456789/767] webciteAddis Ababa University Libraries Electronic Thesis and Dissertations: AAU-ETD, Faculty of medicine: Thesis-public health 2006
• [13]Mengistu S: Assessment of level of awareness and utilization of emergency contraception among college female students in Oromia Regional State, Arsi Zone, Assella. [http://etd.aau.edu.et/dspace/handle/123456789/723] webciteAddis Ababa University Libraries Electronic Thesis and Dissertations: AAU-ETD, Faculty of medicine: Thesis-public health 2007
• [14]Central Statistical Agency: Ethiopian Demographic and Health survey. ORC Marco Calverton, Maryland, USA; 2006.
• [15]Etalemahu D: Assessment of barriers of emergency contraception use among antenatal care clients of Addis Ababa health centers. [http://etd.aau.edu.et/dspace/handle/123456789/817] webciteAddis Ababa University Libraries Electronic Thesis and Dissertations: AAU-ETD, Faculty of medicine: Thesis-public health 2007
• [16]Mayer L, Mlobeli R, Cooper D, Smit J, Morroni C: Knowledge and use of Emergency contraception among women in the western Cape Province, South Africa. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2031876/?tool=pubmed] webciteBMC Women's Health 2007., 7(14)
• [17]Naz S, Tayyab S, Ali L, Yasir R: Emergency Contraception: knowledge and attitude among females: Gynecology unit, Lyari General Hospital, Karachi. Journal of Surgery Pakistan (international) 2009, 14(2):89-92.
• [18]Akani CI, Enyindah CE, Babatunde S: Emergency Contraception: Knowledge and Perception of Female undergraduates in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. In Ghana Med J. Volume 42. Department of obstetrics and gynecology. Choba Port Harcourt, Nigeria; 2008::68-70.
• [19]Bayamugisha JK, Mirembe FM, Faxelid E, Danielsson KG: Emergency Contraception and Fertility awareness among University students in Kampala, Uganda. Afr Health Sci 2006, 6(4):194-200.