Emergency contraceptive knowledge, attitudes and practices among female students at the University of Botswana : a descriptive survey
Date
2018-09
Authors
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Abstract
Background: Unintended pregnancies are associated with unsafe abortions and maternal
deaths, particularly in countries such as Botswana, where abortion is illegal. Many of these
unwanted pregnancies could be avoided by using emergency contraception, which is widely
available in Botswana.
Aim: To assess the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices of female students with regard
to emergency contraception at the University of Botswana.
Setting: Students from University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana.
Methods: A descriptive survey among 371 students selected from all eight faculties at the
university. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and analysed using the
Statistical Package for Social Sciences.
Results: The mean age was 20.6 years (SD 1.62), 58% were sexually active, 22% had used
emergency contraception and 52% of pregnancies were unintended. Of the total respondents,
95% replied that they had heard of emergency contraception; however, only 53% were
considered to have good knowledge, and 55% had negative attitudes towards its use. Students
from urban areas had better knowledge than their rural counterparts (p = 0.020). Better
knowledge of emergency contraception was associated with more positive attitudes towards
actual use (p < 0.001). Older students (p < 0.001) and those in higher years of study (p = 0.001)
were more likely to have used emergency contraception.
Conclusion: Although awareness of emergency contraception was high, level of knowledge
and intention to use were low. There is a need for a targeted health education programme to
provide accurate information about emergency contraception.
Description
CITATION: Kgosiemang, B. & Blitz, J. 2018. Emergency contraceptive knowledge, attitudes and practices among female students at the University of Botswana: A descriptive survey. African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine, 10(1):a1674, doi:10.4102/phcfm.v10i1.1674.
The original publication is available at https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm
The original publication is available at https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm
Keywords
Emergency contraceptive, unprotected sex, emergency contraception, Morning-after pill, University of Botswana
Citation
Kgosiemang, B. & Blitz, J. 2018. Emergency contraceptive knowledge, attitudes and practices among female students at the University of Botswana: A descriptive survey. African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine, 10(1):a1674, doi:10.4102/phcfm.v10i1.1674.