Knowledge and practice of emergency contraception among female students of public university of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, West Africa

Abstract

Background: Female students are exposed to unsafe sex, sources of unwanted pregnancy and abortions. It is recognized that emergency contraception can effectively prevent pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and practices of Ouagadougou public university students in relation to emergency contraception in order to propose solutions to reduce the proportion of unwanted pregnancies among female students.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted between May 1st and October 31st, 2016 in the public universities of Ouagadougou. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 732 students randomly selected.Results: The average age of female students was 22.7 years old. The age group 19 to 24 was the most represented (68.03%). Of the students surveyed, 87% knew or had heard of emergency contraception. The students only used the emergency contraceptive pill. The emergency contraceptive use rate was 44.42%. Approximately, 83% of users were aware of the delay in using emergency contraception. The reasons for using emergency contraception were condom breakage (25.10%) and unprotected sex (74.9%). Female students purchased the contraceptive directly in pharmacies (93.61%).Conclusions: Emergency contraception gives women a last chance to avoid an unwanted pregnancy after unprotected sex. Awareness and free availability of emergency contraception (EC) could improve the reproductive health of female students.

Awareness and utilization of emergency contraceptives among female undergraduates in Kano: North west Nigeria

“…This reason was similar to the finding by researchers in Ouagadougou. 21 Most of respondents identified levonorgestrel pill as the emergency contraceptive method, this is consistent with the findings in Anambra, 11 Kaduna 23 and Maiduguri. 19 Others identified use of copper intrauterine contraceptive device and use of combined contraceptive pill as other methods.…”

“…Almost half of the respondents 43% were aged 20-24 years, this was similar to the findings 19-30 years in northeastern Nigeria, 19 which is also similar to the findings in Eastern Ethiopia 20 and Ouagadougou in Burkina faso. 21 However, this range differs with one reported from the Southeastern Nigeria. 11 The majority of the study population were single constituting almost 70% of the respondents, this is in keeping with the university student's population in this part of the country.…”

“…This is in conformity with the rate reported in northeastern Nigeria, 19 Wolkite 20 in Ethiopia and Ouagadougou in Burkina faso. 21 More than half of the respondents felt that emergency contraceptive is effective. However, most of the respondents felt that use of emergency contraceptives can affect the future desire to bear children.…”