Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Regarding Contraceptive Use among Female Students in a Private University in South Africa

Objective To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding modern contraception among young university women in South Africa. Study Design A cross-section survey based study of 112 female undergraduates (ages 18-24) in a multiracial university in South Africa was conducted. Our 44-item survey used a multi-level framework to measure young womens knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding modern contraceptives. Data analysis was focused on descriptive statistics that examined patterns of participants knowledge and use of modern contraceptives, which provided insight into reproductive health issues of participants. Results Majority of participants (95.0 %) had a good knowledge of at least two types of modern contraceptives, and an equally high number (86.0 %) had positive attitude toward contraceptives. A very high percentage (90.4 %) of participants who had ever had sexual intimacy (n=73) had used a form of contraceptive, but a low rate (21.9 %) of consistent use was recorded. Salient factors associated with low consistent use included weight gain, long term effect on fertility, and encumbrances associated with oral pills. Conclusion In spite of participants high levels of knowledge of modern contraception and their positive attitude towards it, young university students are still making restrictive judgement of its use, which may explain in part, the high level of unintended pregnancy among this population cohort. Implications The findings point to the need for a more nuanced enlightenment campaign and policies on reproductive health that speak to more complex factors that predict contraceptive use among university students in order to reduce unintended pregnancies among this reproductive-aged population.