Sexual and Contraceptive Practices among Female Undergraduates in a Nigerian Tertiary Institution

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The reproductive health of adolescents and young women is integral to the wellbeing of a society. This study was carried out to determine current sexual practices and contraceptive usage among female undergraduate students in a Southwest Nigerian tertiary institution. METHODS: It was a cross-sectional questionnaire based survey of female university undergraduates. Pre-tested questionnaire was used to elicit information on socio-demographic variables and sexual and contraceptive practices. Frequency tables were generated and univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to determine factors that influenced sexual and contraceptive practices. SPSS software version 16.0 was used for analysis. RESULTS: Of 350 students sampled, 306 completed the questionnaire. One hundred and eighty six (60.8%) students were currently sexually active. The mean age of sexual debut was 19.11 years. Sixty-six (35.5%) had more than one sexual partners. Contraceptive knowledge was 100%, but consistent use was 34.4%. A third of the respondents had sex for material rewards and/or under the influence of alcohol and recreational drugs. Students who were less than 20 years old (Adjusted OR: 3.52; 95%CI=2.10-6.82) were more likely to be sexually active while those from polygamous/separated families (Adjusted OR: 0.32; 95% CI=0.18-0.58) were less likely to be sexually active. CONCLUSION: There is a high level of sexual activity and low contraceptive use among female undergraduate students in Southwest Nigeria. More reproductive health education and promotion is necessary to safeguard their sexual health.

Determinants of Contraceptive Use Among Female Undergraduates in Edox State

“…this was similar to ndings in previous studies. 16,22 Also this nding is comparable with the ndings in South Africa, Ireland and Albania where sexual debut was at 17.3 years, 17.6 years and 18.8 years respectively. 23,24 However, this is in contrast to the ndings by Adegbenga et al 25 in their study in Northern Nigeria, where earlier age of sexual debut was reported.…”

“…In the same study as above, 16 an outcome of unprotected intercourse is unwanted pregnancy which occurred in 27.4% of the sexually active students. Unwanted pregnancy among teens and young people account for about three million unsafe abortions worldwide and the incidence seems to be on the rise.…”

“…In a study done by Akintayo et al, 16 consistency in the use of contraceptives did not match the contraceptive knowledge, as only about 35% of the studied population consistently used contraceptive, while in about 31.2%, there was no consistency in the use of contraceptives during sexual intercourse. Sexual activity without consistent and proper usage of contraceptive will lead to unwanted pregnancy and PID with their attendant morbidity and mortality.…”

“…This is similar to ndings by Ogboghodo et al 7 and Ackerson et al 9 Poverty therefore is a major barrier to contraception as these poor ladies are not likely to have a say in their sexual life, as they are more likely to engage in sex for monetary gains. Previous studies 16,21 showed that engaging in sexual intercourse for monetary gains is common among undergraduate students, and this puts them in a condition where they are less likely to negotiate sex and contraceptive use leading to reduced use. 13 The mean age of sexual debut found in our study was 18 ± 2.2 years.…”

Cohort Profile: African Collaborative Center for Microbiome and Genomics Research’s (ACCME's) Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Cervical Cancer Study

“…The women in this cohort have homogeneous contraceptive, sexual and reproductive characteristics and health status compared with similarly aged HIV-negative women, in the general population. 40–42 Many of the women enrolled were in their third or fourth decade of life, the mean age [standard deviation (SD)] of the participants was 39 (10) years. Most of the participants were married (77%; 8832/11 500), monogamous and live with their spouses (86%; 7556/8832).…”