| dc.description.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. | en_US |
