Understanding female condom use, acceptance, accessibility, awareness and knowledge among female public health students in a Nigerian university: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: The female condom is both a means of mechanical contraception and protection against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unwed pregnancies. The use and uptake of female condoms have been advocated as one of the safest ways to halt the risk of unplanned/unwanted pregnancies and STIs including HIV. Our study aimed to explore the knowledge, awareness, utilization, acceptance and accessibility of FC among female public health students in a Nigerian University. Methods: One hundred and ninety (190) female public health students took part in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data between August and December 2019. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS version 23. Results: Overall percentage awareness of female condoms usage in this study was 52.0%. Less than a quarter (22.4%) reported having seen a pack of female condoms, while the remaining 77.6% of the participants reported having never seen a pack of female condoms. In addition, the majority (87.4%) of the respondents did not know whether a female condom interferes with sexual pleasure/sensation. The majority of the respondents (77.4%) concurred that utilizing a female condom implies that "I don't trust my partner". Concerning accessibility of the female condom, only 1.8% agreed that FC is easily accessible while more than half (54.2%) are uncertain of the accessibility. Conclusion: Our study revealed a low level of knowledge and utilization of female condoms, and also limited access to the female condom as well as unsatisfactory acceptance and suboptimal awareness level which were suggested by the overall percentages in the study.

Keywords

• female condom
• female students
• young women
• sexual health and reproductive rights
• public health
• nigeria