An Assessment of Awareness Level On Contraceptives and Their Use by College Students in Kisumu City, Kenya

Abstract

ABSTRACT Reproductive health problems account for 18.4% of the global disease burden. In Kenya, this burden of reproductive health manifests as a high rate of unplanned pregnancies, abortions and sexually transmitted infections with the prevalence of these conditions being higher in some regions of the country like former Nyanza Province. Kisumu City lies in former Nyanza Province which has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Kenya and a high unmet need for contraception. Unplanned pregnancies are also high amongst college students. Addressing the problem of unplanned pregnancies requires access to information on awareness on contraceptives and their use. The broad objective of the study was to assess level of awareness on contraceptives and their use by college students in Kisumu City. The specific objectives for the study were: To establish level of awareness on contraceptives among college students in Kisumu City; To determine the level of use of contraceptives by college students in Kisumu City; To determine association between socio-demographic characteristics of college students in Kisumu City with their level of awareness on contraceptives; To determine level of association between socio-demographic characteristics of college students in Kisumu City with use of contraceptives. It was a cross sectional study. Quantitative data was collected using selfadministered questionnaires from 422 college students while qualitative data was collected from the students through focus group discussions. Multi-stage cluster sampling technique was used in selection of study participants for the quantitative data and the data analyzed using descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate regression. Association between dependent and. independent variables was determined by use of chi-square (p:S0.05) and thereafter binary logistic regression at p:S0.05 and odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals was determined. Qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis method. The results show that only 4.4% of the students had high level of awareness on contraceptives. Furthermore it was found that only 54.7% of respondents were using contraceptives consistently. The socio-demographic factors that were found to be significantly associated with awareness on contraceptive were age (p=0.041) and type of certificate pursued (p=0.043). The socio-demographic factors of the respondents that were found to significantly influence use of contraceptives were: gender (p= 0.017), age (p=0.002), year of study (0.031), employment history (p=0.008), social habits such as attending parties (p=O.OOI) and drinking alcohol (p=0.014). The multivariate analysis showed significant association between use of contraceptives with age [p=O.OOO, OR=1.502(1.201-1.87'7)], attending of parties [p=0.018, OR=2.290(1.150-4.560)] and use of alcohol [p=0.007, OR=4.590(1.516-13.897).1n conclusion, the level of awareness on contraceptives and their use by college students is low. In addition to that awareness on contraceptives and their use by college students is associated with certain socio-demographic characteristics of the students. It is recommended that programmes are put in place to increase awareness on contraceptives and their use by college students. Furthermore, socio-demographic characteristics that are associated with contraceptive use should be considered in designing of services offering contraceptives to college students. The significance of this study is that it provides information that can be used by health providers in designing and improving family planning service programming and policy for youth in colleges.