| dc.description.abstract | INTRODUCTION
University students have a history of different risky sexual behaviours and more than 20% do not use any method of contraception a phenomenon that exposes them to unintended pregnancies which affects their academic progress at the university.
OBJECTIVES: To establish the prevalence and the associated factors of emergency contraceptive use among undergraduate students of Makerere University.
METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted among 384 female undergraduate students from 10 colleges of Makerere University. Stratified Random sampling was used while selecting the sample population. Data was collected through a self- administered questionnaire.
Microsoft Excel was used for data entry and data analysis was done using the STATA 14.2 version. Chi-square test was used to establish factors associated with ECs use and factors with p values <0.05 at 95% CI were considered statistically significant.
RESULTS: The prevalence of EC use was 249 (64 %) while the level of knowledge regarding correct use of ECs was found to be 262 (68%).
The factors associated with ECs use were; marital status (p value=0.044), residence (p value =0.001), knowledge on EC use (p value <0.001), Peers being the main source of knowledge about ECs (p value <0.001), likelihood of ECs to cause cancer (p value <0.001), abortion (p value <0.001), ectopic pregnancies (p value < 0.001) and uterine rupture (p value < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of EC use in this study is comparatively high as compared to other previous studies conducted in other universities in Africa.
Predictors for EC use among the female undergraduate students included; marital status, residence, Knowledge about EC use, Peers being the main source of knowledge about ECs and the likelihood of ECs to cause cancer, ectopic pregnancies and abortion. | en_US |
