KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE ON EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION AMONG HIGHER SECONDARY STUDENTS

Abstract

Background: Emergency contraception is a modern contraceptive method that can be used to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex. Adolescents are one of the vulnerable groups for premarital, unsafe/unprotected sexual intercourse resulting in unintended pregnancy. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitudes of secondary school students.

Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study design was used, and the study population included students in grades 11 and 12, including all faculties, selected by a proportional simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data and findings.

Results: The present study revealed that out of 222 respondents, the majority of respondents 65.3% had good knowledge and 52.3% of respondents had favorable attitudes towards emergency contraception among secondary school students. Some socio-demographic characteristics were significantly associated with good knowledge age (p<0.001), educational level (p<0.001), and faculty of education (p=0.004) and were not significant with other socio-demographic variables. However, there was no significant association between attitude towards emergency contraception and socio-demographic variables.

Conclusions: Most of the respondents have good knowledge and a positive attitude towards emergency contraception. However, very few of them knew about the right time to use emergency contraception and other related aspects. Therefore, awareness programs can be conducted at the high school level to increase the level of knowledge and correct use of emergency contraception.