A Descriptive Study on the Knowledge and Attitude of Female College Students towards Contraception

Abstract

Effective contraception plays a vital role in the economic advancement and reproductive health of women. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude regarding contraception of female college students of a university. A descriptive study design was used with 100 female students of different departments including Arts and Science, engineering, nursing etc, who were selected by convenient sampling technique. A self reported tool was used with 3 sections including demographic data, knowledge questionnaire and a 3 point Likert scale to assess the attitude. The overall level of knowledge (8.86 ±3.56) shows that there was inadequate knowledge among the female college students on contraception. The overall percentage of female college students with a positive attitude was only 28.66%. There was no correlation between participants' knowledge of contraception and their attitudes about it. (x2 = 1.17, df = 1, p = 0.28). The study concludes that there is an urgent need to improve the knowledge of the female college students on contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancies as well as maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. Keywords: Knowledge, Attitude, Female College Students, Contraception, Family Planning