Contraceptive Use among Senior Secondary School Students in Abakaliki Metropolis, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Aims: To determine the use of contraceptives among senior secondary school students in Abakaliki metropolis, Ebonyi State.

Study Design: A cross-sectional study design was used.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in public secondary schools in Abakaliki metropolis, Ebonyi Nigeria, for a duration of six months

Methodology: A two-stage sampling method was used to select 400 students from 6 out of 18 public secondary schools in Abakaliki metropolis. Information was obtained using a pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire. Chi square test and multivariate logistic regression were used in the analysis and level of statistical significance was determined by p value of <0.05.

Results: The mean age of respondents was 17.4±2.3 years and majority (51.5%) were females. More than one fifth (21.5%) have been exposed to sexual intercourse. Majority of the respondents (61.8%) were aware of contraceptives. The major sources of information were school lessons (46.0%) and health workers (40.8%). The contraceptives mostly known included male condom (42.0%), female condom (22.3%) and natural methods (15.3%). Out of the 400 respondents, a small proportion (8.5%) have ever used any method of contraception, and the male condom, was the most used method (82%). Logistic regression showed predictors of contraceptive use to include being <18 years (AOR=0.4; 95% CI: 0.2-0.9), being male (AOR=6.0, 95% CI: 2.0-17.7) and being in senior secondary three class (AOR=0.2, 95% CI: 0.1-0.6).

Conclusion: Only a small proportion of the respondents who were sexually active used any method of contraception. With school lectures as the main source of information on contraception, there is need for more comprehensive sexuality education to be included in the school curriculum.