THE PERCEPTION OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TOWARDS THE USE OF CONTRACEPTIVES

ABSTRACT

The study attempted to investigate the perception of undergraduate student towards the use of contraceptives at the University of Lagos. In this study, relevant and extensive literatures were reviewed under relevant sub-heading. A cross-sectional of five hundred (500) undergraduates aged 15-25 years was carried out using instruments like other-administered structured interview schedule, in-depth interviews and informal conversation to collect data. The analysis  of the data showed majority of the undergraduates in Lagos State university are  sexually experienced (58.2%) with most of the first sexual experiences occurring within the 15-19 years age group. There is a high level of knowledge (78.8%) of contraceptive methods available and where to get them but the level of contraceptive use is relatively lower (34.6%) even for the sexually active notwithstanding their level of education especially the students at higher institutions. This could be attributed to barriers to contraceptive use identified by them which includes embarrassment to buy, fear of side effect, disapproval by partner and lack of proper knowledge of contraceptive. Finally, it was concluded that there is a wide disparity between contraceptive knowledge and practice which need to be bridged. There is also need to review policies regarding reproductive health, sexuality and family life education among undergraduates in Nigeria.