PARENTAL KNOWLEDGE ON APPROPRIATE CONTRACEPTIVES AND THEIR ATTITUDE REGARDING ITS PROVISION TO UNMARRIED YOUTHS IN IBADAN NORTH-EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, NIGERIA

Abstract

Short-acting contraceptive methods such as condoms and emergency contraceptive pills considered appropriate for sexually active Unmarried Youths (UYs) to address increasing occurrences of unintended pregnancies (UPs) and sexually transmitted infection (STIs). While provision of contraceptives have been used as an intervention in preventing UPs and STIs among UYs, there is a need to study parental knowledge of appropriate contraception and their attitude regarding its provision to UYs. This study was designed to assess parental knowledge on Appropriate Contraceptives (ACs) and their attitude regarding its provision to UYs in Ibadan North-East Local Government Area, (IBNELGA) Oyo State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey which employed three stage sampling technique was used to select 6 wards randomly from IBNELGA. Seven communities were selected from the wards using, probability proportionate to size. Three hundred and six respondents (parents who had UYs aged 15-24 years) were then purposively selected from the communities. A pre-tested semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used, to elicit information on respondent's socio-demographic characteristics, level of knowledge on ACs and attitude regarding its provision to UY's. Respondenis' knowledge on ACs for UYs and attitude were measured on 34-point and 28-point scales respectively. Knowledge scores of ≤ 17 and >17 were rated as poor and good respectively. Attitude scores of ≤ 14 and >14 were rated as negative and positive respectively. Six Focus Group Discussion (FGD) sessions were also conducted among the respondents. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi square test and logistic regression model at p=0.05. The qualitative data were analysed using the thematic approach. More than half (57.8%) of the respondents had tertiary level of education and 50.0% were males. Most (92.2%) were Yoruba and 89.0% lived with their youths. Respondents' overall knowledge score on ACs was 14.7±6.6. More than half (53.6%) of the respondents had poor knowledge on ACs and of those who did, 61.4% were males. Overall, 54.9% of respondents had positive attitude towards provision of contraceptives to UYs out of which, 55.1% were males. Fifty three percent were of the opinion that sexually active UYs should be provided with contraceptives and 50.7% also supported provision of contraceptive to UYs with history of STIs. Knowledge of ACs was significantly higher among female respondents (OR: 2.0, CI: 1.2-3.4) Parents who had good knowledge were more likely to have positive attitude towards the provision of contraceptive to UYs (OR: 3.0, CL: 1.8-4.8). Parents who had used contraceptives in the past and reported negative experiences such as excessive bleeding and weight gain were less likely to approve of its provision to UYs (OR: 0.3, CI: 0.2-0.5). Most FGD participants supported free access of sexually active UYs to contraceptives for the prevention of UPs and STIs.

Parents had poor knowledge on appropriate contraceptive, but only marginally positive attitude regarding its provision to unmarried youths. Parents should be educated on appropriate contraceptives for unmarried youths to fill the gaps in knowledge.