Browsing by Author "Nyangeni, Chwayita"

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    Knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of females requesting termination of pregnancy in Nelson Mandela Bay regarding emergency contraceptives
    (University of Fort Hare, 2024-05) Nyangeni, Chwayita; Rala, N.M.
    Background Unintended pregnancies leading to termination of pregnancy (TOP) continue to increase regardless of the availability of emergency contraceptives (ECs). The increase in uptake of TOP services suggests underutilisation of ECs. This could be due to insufficient knowledge, negative attitudes, and non-conforming behaviour towards ECs. Objectives This study investigated the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours of women regarding emergency contraceptive use in Nelson Mandela Bay. Methods A total of 390 women participated in this cross-sectional survey and a structured selfadministered questionnaire was used for data collection. The data were summarised using frequency distribution tables and associations between participant characteristics and KAB were carried out using the chi-square test. Results Participants knew that condom rupture (70.3%) and forced intercourse/rape (64.9%) were circumstances under which ECs may be used. Women from informal settlements were less likely to be aware of the usefulness of ECs in preventing pregnancy (OR=0.3; 95%CI (0.16; 0.59)) compared to township and urban women and so were those with less than university education (OR=0.2; 95%CI (0.07;0.39)). Women from informal settlements and those with high school education were more likely to be neutral than to agree with effectiveness of ECs compared to township women (OR=2.3; 95%CI(1.14;4.69)) and those with university education (OR=2.6; 95%CI (1.38; 4.88)), respectively. Rural women were less likely to have previously used ECs compared to township women (OR=0.2; 95%CI (0.06;0.86)), so were those with high school education compared to university graduates (OR=0.4; 95%CI (0.19;0.74)). Conclusion Emergency contraception knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours were found to be related to the residential type and educational level. This study recommends strengthening awareness campaigns on ECs to women whose messaging considers residential type and education level.