title: Sexual experiences and emergency contraceptive use among female university students: a cross-sectional study at Wachamo University, Ethiopia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although unintended pregnancy rate is declining in both developed and developing countries, it remains higher in developing countries. Ethiopia is one country with a high prevalence of unintended pregnancy. In spite of this fact, very little is known about utilization of emergency contraception (EC) among young women. Therefore, this study aims to assess sexual experiences and emergency contraception use among female students at Wachamo University in Ethiopia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to April 2013 at Wachamo University in Ethiopia. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to assess sexual experiences and emergency contraception use among female students. The study participants (n = 424) were selected using a multistage sampling procedure. A simple random sampling technique was applied to select the study participants from a list obtained in registrar's office. Data was entered into EpiInfo and exported to SPSS for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine factors associated with emergency contraception use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The majority of respondents (62.0%) were 20-24 years old and 31.4% were sexually active. Among sexually active, the mean (standard deviation) age at first sex was 18.22 (SD = 1.69). About one-half participants had high levels of knowledge about EC (49.8%) and positive attitudes towards EC (47.6%). Moreover, 44.4% of sexually active participants used EC at least once after unprotected sexual intercourse. The bivariate logistic regression revealed that age, marital status, religion, previous & current residence, parent's educational status, knowledge about and attitude towards EC has a significant (P < 0.005) association with EC use. Furthermore, the multivariate analysis indicated that female students who have good knowledge, and ever got married were more likely to use EC than their counterparts (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Emergency Contraception use, knowledge about and attitude on Emergency Contraception were very low among female students. Overall, knowledge on EC and marital status were predictors for EC use. Thus, it is an indication that there is a need for health education and promotion programs in university set-up to improve EC use to prevent unintended pregnancies.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia. tedrigecho@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Tewodros Getachew
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Hailemariam
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing & Midwifery, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia. tame.tesfish@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Tamene
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tesfaye
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing & Midwifery, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia. tedlamelese@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Tedla
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Melese
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing & Midwifery, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia. wondimu.al@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Wondimu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Alemayehu
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing & Midwifery, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia. yeshialem.k@gamil.com.
authors.forename: Yeshialem
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kenore
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing & Midwifery, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia. yoseflelamo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yosef
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lelamo
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing & Midwifery, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia. tilahunsaol@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Tilahun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Saul
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia. canaanb00@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Canaan Negash
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Seifu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003075:Coitus; D044363:Contraception, Postcoital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult