The Effects of Health Education on Knowledge and Attitudes to Emergency Contraception by Female Students of a Tertiary Educational Institution in Enugu, South East Nigeria

Abstract

This was an intervention study to assess the effects of health education on the knowledge and attitudes to emergency contraception (EC) by female students of University of Nigeria in southeast Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 337 female students of a tertiary educational institution (150 in the study group and 187 from the control group) who were selected by multistage sampling. Subsequently, health education was conducted only among students in the study institution. Three months after this intervention, its effects were assessed through a survey using the same structured questionnaire employed in the baseline survey. Unlike the pre-intervention results, knowledge of EC was significantly higher (P < 0.05) among the study group than the controls. Attitudes to EC were also more favourable at the post- intervention survey among the study group. Health education can effectively improve knowledge and attitudes to EC among female students of tertiary institutions and this should be encouraged.

Keywords: Knowledge, Attitudes, Emergency contraception, Health education, Female students, Tertiary institutions

Nig. J. Physiol. Sci. 25(December 2010) 165 – 171