title: Use of emergency contraception in Nigeria: An exploration of related factors among sexually active female university students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Unsafe abortions account for nearly one-third of maternal deaths among young people. Women who have an induced abortion are usually literate and less than 30 years old; usually undergraduates with unintended pregnancies. Many of these pregnancies could have been prevented by contraception. The aim of this study was to determine the correlates of uptake of emergency contraception among university students.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1328 sexually active, never married female university students. Self-administered questionnaire was used to assess knowledge, perception and practice of emergency contraception. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of emergency contraception.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Majority of the participants were aware of emergency contraception (72.6%), had good knowledge (56.0%), and had the perception that it is effective (74.6%) and easy to use (72.4%). The main sources of information about emergency contraception were friends (32.9%) and the media (20.0%). About 52.0% of the participants had unprotected sex in the preceding six months, while 718 (54.1%) had ever used emergency contraception. The main sources of the commodities were sexual partners (46.2%) and medicine stores (35.4%). The uptake of emergency contraception was predicted by being ≤19 years (AOR = 3.193), rural dwelling (AOR = 4.247), perceptions that it is effective (AOR = 2.229E11) and easy to use (AOR = 6.680E8).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Use of contraception among sexually active female Nigerian university students is predicted by the perception about its effectiveness and ease of use. Sexual and reproductive health programmes should focus on improving knowledge and addressing misconception in order to improve perception about emergency contraception.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Benjamin Carson (Snr) College of Medicine, Babcock University, Ilishan, Nigeria. Electronic address: olumiabiodun@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Olumide
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Abiodun
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001364:Awareness; D044363:Contraception, Postcoital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D009549:Nigeria; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D011275:Pregnancy, Unwanted; D012424:Rural Population; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012747:Sexual Partners; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D047568:Unsafe Sex
keywords: Correlates; Emergency contraception; Nigeria; Sexually active