Awareness, Attitude and Utilization of Emergency Contraceptives Among Women in Ussa Local Government Area of Taraba State, Nigeria

¹ , eskebtso Yohanna Adaki² , Abigail Embwa Moses³

Section:Research Paper, Product Type: Journal-Paper
Vol.10 , Issue.10 , pp.90-98, Oct-2024

Online published on Oct 31, 2024

Copyright © ,eskebtso Yohanna Adaki, Abigail Embwa Moses . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 

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Abstract :
Unsafe abortions and unwanted pregnancies continue to be major global public health issues, particularly in low-income nations. This study evaluated women in Taraba State`s Ussa Local Government Area`s knowledge, use, and influencing variables about emergency contraceptives. A total of 384 questionnaires were distributed to selected women in the study location who were in the reproductive age range of 15–49 years, using a cross-sectional survey research methodology. While nearly half of the respondents were aware of emergency contraception, the results show that information regarding their availability and use might be better disseminated. A reasonable percentage of respondents (34.3%) believed they had used emergency contraception, but the majority (65.7%) had not. Economic limitations, information gaps, moral convictions, relationship dynamics, societal stigma, and the fear of adverse health consequences are some of the variables that the study also identified influence women`s attitudes towards emergency contraception in the Ussa Local Government Area. A significant relationship was found between attitudes towards ECs and their utilization, as revealed by a Chi-Square Test with a calculated value of 38.89, leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis. The study also found that socio-economic factors such as income, education, and occupation significantly influenced both attitudes and utilization of ECs, with higher income and education levels associated with more positive attitudes and greater utilization. In light of the study`s findings, we suggested that in order to empower women and lower the number of unwanted pregnancies, health agencies in the Ussa Local Government Area should improve their health promotions, promote parent-child conversations about reproductive health, involve traditional and religious leaders in family planning campaigns, create centers that are welcoming to young girls, and put in place thorough reproductive health education.

Key-Words / Index Term :
Awareness, Attitude, Utilization, Emergency Contraceptives, women, Unintended pregnancies

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