1. Contraceptive Attitudes among Female College Students Kellie
D. Bryant RN, DNP Associate Professor SUNY Downstate
2. Problem: Unintended Pregnancy & Contraception
60% of pregnancies are unintended
Leading causes are lack of contraceptive use and contraceptive
failure
53% of unintended pregnancies could have been avoided if women
used contraception
3. Highest Teenage Pregnancy Rate
US (52.1 births/1000 women 15-19 years)
2. United Kingdom (30.8 births/1000) second
Highest teenage births among 28 rich nations.
4. Reasons for Lack of Contraceptive Use
Misconceptions about contraceptives
Negative attitude about contraception
Failure to recognize the risk of pregnancy
Inability to communicate with their partner about
contraceptives
Partners disapprove of contraception
Worried about side effects
5. Barriers to Contraception
Cost, substandard health care facilities, childcare issues, and
lack of transportation
Among Blacks and Hispanics -decreased income, higher rate of
unemployment, decreased level of education, and lack of
insurance
6. Purpose of Study
To examine contraceptive attitudes and demographic
characteristics of contraceptive users among female college
students from three different groups of contraceptive use
7. Three Contraceptive Groups
All the time = Uninterrupted user
Sometimes = I ntermittent contraceptive user
Never = Contraceptive nonusers
8. Importance of Proposed Study
Contraceptive use among college students has not been well
examined
Lack of research on contraceptive use since the development of
newer forms of contraceptives
9. Importance of Proposed Study
Identification of womens attitudes about contraceptives may
help health care providers eliminate some of the barriers and
misconceptions regarding contraceptives.
Women ages 18-24 have a high rate of unintended pregnancy
rate
10. Research Questions and Hypothesizes
11. Research Questions
What are the most commonly used contraceptive methods among
female college students?
What percentage of female college students are in the 3 groups
of contraceptive users: uninterrupted, intermittent, and
nonusers?
12. Research Questions
What are the most common demographic characteristics among the
3 groups (uninterrupted contraceptive users, intermittent
contraceptive users, & contraceptive nonusers?
What are the contraceptive attitude scores of female college
students?
13. Research Question
Do contraceptive attitude scores of female college students
vary by race, age, marital status, and socioeconomic status?
Do contraceptive attitude scores vary among uninterrupted
contraceptive users, intermittent contraceptive users, and
contraceptive nonusers?
14. Hypothesis
1. Demographic factors associated with uninterrupted
contraceptive use are being married, 24 years of age or older, from
a higher socioeconomic status, and White.
15. Hypothesis
2. Contraceptive attitude scores will be lowest among females
who are Black or Hispanic, less than 24 years of age, unmarried,
and from lower socioeconomic levels.
16. Hypothesis
3. Contraceptive attitude scores among uninterrupted
contraceptive users will be higher than among intermittent
contraceptive users and nonusers.
17. Methods
18. Design
Quantitative, comparative descriptive design
Participants categorized by the frequency they use their
preferred contraceptive method: 1) Uninterrupted, 2) Intermittent,
and 3) non use of contraceptives.
19. Setting
University located in a highly diverse area of a large
metropolitan city on the east coast.
47% black, 15% Hispanic, 25% white, and 13% Asian
72% female
Average age of an undergraduate student is 24 years
20. Sample Criteria
Inclusion criteria - female college student, between the ages
of 18 to 44, who can read and speak English and has been sexually
active in the past three months
Exclusion criteria - females older than 44, younger than 18
years of age, and students who do not speak or read English.
21. Sample
Convenience, purposive sample N = 120
Mean age = 24.2
Range = 18 to 44 years
Racial background : Black (45%),
White (19.2%), Hispanic (14.2%),
Asian/Pacific Islander (13.3%).
22. Sample
Student income: 65.3 % earned < $19,999
Marital Status: 12.5% married
Religion: 63.4% Christian, 11.7% No Religion
Classified into 3 groups of contraceptive users: 1)
Uninterrupted, 2) Intermittent, 3) Non- user
23. Years of College of Participants
24. Questionnaire
The survey consisted of three questionnaires
Contraceptive Attitude Scale
Contraceptive Use Tool
Demographic Tool
Survey took approximately 11 minutes to complete
25. Results
26. RQ 1 Results: Most commonly used contraceptive methods
The 5 most preferred methods: male condom (48.2%), pill
(22.4%), withdrawal (10.6%), patch (4.7%), and Depo Provera
(4.1%).
27. RQ 2: What % are uninterrupted, intermittent and
nonusers
28. Research Question #3
What are the most common demographic characteristics among
uninterrupted contraceptive users, intermittent contraceptive
users, and contraceptive nonusers?
29. RQ# 3 Results
The findings from this study failed to find a relationship
between contraceptive use and race, age, socioeconomic level, years
of education, or religion
May be due to the homogenous sample of students at the
University.
30. Research Question #4
What are the contraceptive attitude scores of female college
students?
31. RQ#4: Results
The contraceptive attitude scores for the participants in the
study were homogenous.
Most participants had a positive attitude.
The mean score for the group was 4.1008 out of 5 with a SD of
0.498.
32. Research Question #5
Do contraceptive attitude scores of female college students
vary by race, age, marital status, and socioeconomic status?
33. RQ # 5 Results
Contraceptive attitude scores did not vary by age, race,
marital status, and socioeconomic status
34. Research Question #6
Do contraceptive attitude scores vary among uninterrupted
contraceptive users, intermittent contraceptive users, and
contraceptive nonusers?
35. Results among 3 Contraceptive Groups
Uninterrupted users scored 0.27 points higher on the
contraceptive attitude scale than intermittent users.
Uninterrupted users scored 0.45 points higher than
nonusers.
36. Contraceptive Attitude Scale
Students with higher contraceptive attitude scores were more
likely to be consistent contraceptive users.
37. Additional Findings
Blacks were more likely to use condoms.
Older women less likely to use birth control.
Whites more likely to use withdrawal method.
Younger students more likely to use condoms.
Students with more years of college were more likely to use
birth control .
38. Top 5 Reasons for Not using Birth Control
Worried about side effects
Health concerns
Opposed to birth control
Partner opposed
Want children
39. Woman 35 and Older
Women 35 & older were less likely to use birth control
May be due to older woman believing they have a small chance of
becoming pregnant
May be due to increased fear of side effects due to advanced
age and the misconception that hormonal methods may negatively
affect their health.
40. Younger Woman and Condoms
Increased condom use was among younger woman.
May be contributed to younger woman being less likely to be
married or in a long term monogamous relationship.
Younger woman to be more likely to use condoms due to concerns
about protection against sexually transmitted infections.
41. Evidence Based Practice
42. What Works???
Better contraceptive services;
New methods that are more effective and easier to use;
Methods with noncontraceptive benefits
Making methods available without the need to see a doctor
Improved education -
43. Evidence Practice to Decrease Unintended Pregnancies
Women considering birth control should receive detailed
information - both verbal and written
44. Information to Discuss with Clients
Contraceptive efficacy
Duration of use
Risks and possible side effects
Non-contraceptive benefits
The procedure for initiation and removal/discontinuation
When to seek help while using the method
45. Evidence Based Practice
Adequate time during consultations to address contraceptive and
broader health issues .
Contraceptive and sexual health services in schools to promote
and provide the planning, delivery, and evaluation of sex and
relationship education.
46. Evidence Based Practice
IUDs , IUS, and implants are more cost effective than the
injectable contraceptives
Increasing the use of these methods will reduce the number of
unintended pregnancies
47. In Reality
No single intervention will make a measurable difference.
Providers should concentrate on encouraging correct and
consistent use.