Opinion and use of contraceptives among medical students of the University of Nigeria, Enugu campus

BACKGROUND: Non-use or poor usage of any form of contraception increases the chances of unwanted pregnancies, abortion and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS occurring with attendant problems. The knowledge of, and the appropriate use of contraceptives will reduce the prevalence of unwanted pregnancies and unsafe induced abortion as well as limit incidence of STIs and associated complications. OBJECTIVES: Determination of the opinion and use of contraceptives; to examine the socio-demographics, knowledge and attitude towards contraception and contraceptive use among medical undergraduates in the University of Nigeria, Enugu campus. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study. Stratified probability sampling technique was employed using the different medical classes as strata. Individuals were subsequently chosen at random until a statistically determined sample size was achieved. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20) software was utilized for data analysis. RESULTS: Our study found a statistically significant relationship between sex and contraceptive use. It was also statistically deduced that knowledge of possible contraceptives failure negatively impacts on opinion with regards to contraceptive use. CONCLUSION: Positive opinion towards contraceptives will go a long way to encourage proper and effective contraceptives use. This can be achieved by utilizing counseling by health workers.