Abstract:
Background: Emergency contraception (EC), also called „morning after pill‟ or post-coital contraception refers to birth controls method used to prevent pregnancy in women. It could be a drug or a device which when used timely and appropriately has the potential of preventing unplanned pregnancy. It is noted that although promoting the use of modern contraception especially in developing countries offers women the last chance to prevent unintended pregnancy, reduce maternal and child mortalities, it is however unclear whether university students understand the contextual factors surrounding EC use. Objective: The aim of this study is to assess knowledge and the contextual factors surrounding emergency contraception use among undergraduate students of the University of Professional Studies, Accra. Methods: The study design was a descriptive cross sectional survey using quantitative research tool. Stratified random sampling strategy was used to stratify the student population aged 17-36 years by grade-level and also by the course studied. The sample size of 387 was distributed to the various faculties/department and structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Results: Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Findings show a mean age of 24 years and ranged between 17-36 years. The study found widespread knowledge (77.5%) and awareness of emergency contraception and a higher (72.1%) usage among respondents despite low contraceptive prevalence of (21%). Conclusions: Findings from this study would provide vital information about knowledge and the contextual factors surrounding emergency contraception use. This information could potentially be used to effectively plan and deliver family planning and contraceptive services to students of the University of Professional Studies, Accra.
Key words: Emergency contraception, family planning, contextual, knowledge, use.
