Correlates of emergency contraception awareness among college students of Kathmandu, Nepal

Ramesh Adhikari, Mahendra Ratna Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

In Nepal, where emergency contraception (EC) could play a critical role in reducing unintended pregnancies, very little is known about it. Main objectives of the study are to investigate awareness level and explore the influencing factors of awareness about EC among college students. A self-administered questionnaire was filled by the 1137 students. Association between awareness about EC and the explanatory variables were first assessed in bivariate analysis then further explored using binary logistic regression. The study found that only two-thirds of the college students (68%) were aware about EC. The study further revealed that sex of the students, permanent place of residence and received reproductive health education in school/college are significant predictors for having awareness about EC. There is a need to educate college students about EC which can help to reduce unintended pregnancies, many of which result in unsafe abortion and take a large toll on women’s health.