ASSESSING CONTRACEPTIVE USE, KNOWLEDGE OF PROPER USE, AND AWARENESS OF RISKS AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH EDUCATION

Abstract

Artificial or natural methods of preventing pregnancy following sexual activity are known as contraceptives. This study assessed contraceptive use, knowledge of proper use, and awareness of risks among university students: implications for reproductive health education. This investigation was guided by four specified objectives. The study used the descriptive cross-sectional research design for this study. Data was collected using structured questionnaires. The social science statistical program, SPSS version 23, was used to analyse the collect survey data. The study uses charts and percentages to answer the objectives. Findings of the study revealed that a majority 80.9% of the respondents were females while 19.1% were males, majority 81.0% of the respondents were singles, while 19.0% were married, 80% of the respondents used contraceptive while 20% have not used contraceptive, 92.6% of students know how to use contraceptives, 60.6% of the respondents used contraceptive to prevent pregnancy. The study further revealed that majority of the respondents 300(75%) said that high blood pressure is a risk associated with contraceptive use, 250(62.5%) said headache/migraine, 310(77.5%) said irregular bleeding, 380(95%) said spotting while 300(75%) said cancer is a risk associated with contraceptive use. At (p=0.005) the study found that there is are significant risks associated with contraceptive use among university students (χ2 = 0.002, 0.611, 0.667, 0.780 and 0.061). The study therefore suggest that females should get greater information about family planning and birth control.