Abstract
ASSESSMENT OF CONTRACEPTIVE UTILIZATION AMONG ERITREA INSTITUTION OF TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS IN 2017: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Background: Eighteen percent of the world’s population is between the ages of 15 and 24, with 80% living in less developed countries. Similarly, in Eritrea about 33% are in adolescent age ranging 10 to 24 years. Adolescent health is a global public health concern because they are the most vulnerable group in the human stage of development. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess contraceptive usage among the selected students in Eritrea Institution of Technology (EIT). Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive and inferential study design were used to analyze the data. Data was collected from 509 students aged 19-26 years using structured self-administrated questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis were performed to analyze the data using SPSS (Version 20). P value of less than or equal to 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The study found out about three fourth (74.0%) of the participants never used any contraceptive. However, among the 26.0% users, male condom (87.4%) was found to be the most utilized contraceptive method. The main reason for not utilizing or practicing contraceptive was never being exposed to sexual intercourse in which accounts 74.2%. Moreover, multivariable regression analysis was used to find out association if any among the variable of interest and demographic variables. Finally, sex (X2= 13.392a, p=0.000<0.001, df=1), economic status (X2= 27.218a, p=0.000<0.001, df =1) and having sex (AOR =3.6, p=0.000 <0.05) (X2= 268.348a, p=0.000<0.01, df=1) were found statistically significant. Conclusions: Contraceptive use among EIT students was found to be low. The study found out sex, economic status, and sexual history were found to be independently predictors of contraceptive utilization. Thus, effort is needed to increase awareness of participants to utilize contraceptive methods to have save sex life.