Contraceptive use and associated factors among female university students in Rwanda: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence of modern contraceptive use and associated factors among female university students at university of Rwanda.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study on the prevalence of modern contraception utilization and associated factors among female university students at the University of Rwanda. Data were collected prospectively using a structured questionnaire. We used STATA version 13 to analyze the data. Chi-squared test, Fisher exact test, and multivariate regression analysis were performed as appropriate. A P value less than 0.05 and odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to present the results significance.

RESULTS

Among 385 female students included in the study, 34% (131/385) were using modern contraceptive methods. Being married (AOR 2.6, 95% CI: 1.05-7.10) and having a history of pregnancy (AOR 3.6, 95% CI: 1.53-8.45) were associated with modern contraceptive use. Address, educational level, and age were not associated with contraceptive use.

CONCLUSION

In this study, only one in three female university students were using modern contraception, which is lower than reports from other African countries. This implies there is a high need for advocacy on contraception use among university students in Rwanda.