Factors Associated With Emergency Contraceptives Use Among Reproductive Age Women In Two Tertiary Institutions In The Greater Accra Region
Date
2022-07
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University Of Ghana
Abstract
Introduction: Emergency contraception (EC) is a method of preventing unwanted/unplanned
pregnancy after unprotected sexual intercourse, mismanagement of regular contraception or nonuse
of contraception. This will help curb the increasing incidence of unsafe abortions in developing
countries. The national data on contraceptives in Ghana shows a high level of knowledge of EC
among the people but its usage is very low. Factors including the socio-economic, socio-demographic,
and sexual and reproductive history affecting the use are yet to be fully understood.
This study sought to assess the factors influencing the use of EC among female students of the
University of Ghana.
Method: The study was an cross-sectional study involving 473 female students from the University
of Ghana and Central University. The participants were selected randomly for the study from
various halls in both schools. Self-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect the
data from the study participants. Chi Square test was used to determine the statistical association
between emergency contraceptive use and independent variables of interest. SPSS version 25 software
was used for the analysis. P-value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Descriptive
statistics was done for each variable. The association between the dependent (EC use) and indealyzed using logistic regressions. The result of the logistic regression analysis was reported as odds
ratios (OR) at 95 % CI.
Results: The mean age of the reproductive age women was 23.3 years } 4.4. Majority of the participants
were sexually active (63.7%). The mean age for the first sexual intercourse among the
participants was 19.5 years } 3.1. About 77.4% of the study participants had heard of EC. Friends
(77.6%) were the main sources of information about EC. Most of the students correctly used EC
and only few misused it (in terms of stipulated time of use and the required doses taken). The study
showed that availability of EC on campus (P=0.006), safety of EC (P<0.001), comfortability of
EC use (P<0.001), heard of EC (P<0.001) sexually active (P<0.001) and effectiveness of EC
(P<0.001) were all statistically associated with EC use. Age, marital status, religion, tribe, college,
sexually active, number of men slept with in your entire life, ever had abortion, any concern about
EC, working along schooling were all statistically significant with EC use.
Conclusion: This study showed that the socio-demographic, sexual and reproductive history and
socio-economic status were all significantly associated with EC use.
Description
MPhil. Applied Epidemiology And Disease Control.
Keywords
Emergency Contraceptives, Reproductive Age Women, Greater Accra Region