Knowledge, Attitude, Utilization And Barriers to Emergency Contraception among Reproductive-Age Women Between 15 and 24 Years in Ghana’s Poor and Low-Resource Settings: The Case of East-Gonja Municipality

Abstract

Emergency contraceptive (EC) is a family planning method that can be used after the failure of barrier contraceptive methods, sexual assault, and/or missed oral contraceptive pills to prevent pregnancy. Improving access and use of modern contraceptives such as EC has been suggested, among another healthcare continuum, as the solution to the global population dilemma. However, there is a paucity of data on modern contraceptive use and associated factors in Ghana’s impoverished and low-resource settings. If this continues into the future, the effective planning and implementation of sexual and reproductive programs in these regions could be hampered. This study, therefore, sought to examine the level of knowledge on EC, attitude towards EC, utilization, and barriers to EC among reproductive-age women between 15 and 24 years in the East-Gonja Municipality of Ghana. The study was conducted in Salaga, the administrative capital of the East-Gonja Municipality, using a school-based, descriptive cross-sectional study design. The study population comprised 295 female students from Salaga Senior High School (SHS). Data were collected using structured, self-administered questionnaires, and descriptive analyses were performed to determine respondents’ level of knowledge, attitude, utilization, and barriers to EC. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 was used to analyze the data. About 62% of the respondents had inadequate knowledge about EC. More than half (56.5%) of the sample who reported prior awareness of EC showed a negative attitude toward EC. Less than half (48.5%) of the respondents who indicated had ever engaged in vaginal intercourse with a man reported ever-use of EC. The major reason for EC non-use was fear of stigma (62.0%). Although the majority of the respondents were aware of EC, most of them demonstrated inadequate knowledge and poor attitude toward EC, the former being a major reason for EC non-use. Our findings suggest the need for comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) education and improved access to modern contraceptives among adolescents and youth in the East-Gonja municipality.