Emergency contraception in university students: prevalence of use and knowledge gaps

OBJECTIVE: Investigate prevalence of use and knowledge about emergency contraception (EC) among female university students from two higher education institutions. METHODS: Cross-sectional study with 1,740 undergraduates in the city of Santa Maria (RS), from May to October 2017. Information was collected in a semi-structured and self-administered 24-question questionnaire. The investigated variables were grouped into sociodemographic characteristics, sexual behavior, and knowledge of EC. Logistic regression was used for univariate and multivariate analysis, considering variables that presented p < 0.05. The model was adjusted using the Hosmer-Lemeshow test. RESULTS: The prevalence of EC use among undergraduates was 52.9%. However, only 11.9% of respondents received guidance on EC, especially on how to use it. Only 0.2% of the participants marked 120 hours as the maximum time of use, and 25.7% considered the EC to be abortive. EC use was associated with the age of first sexual intercourse. CONCLUSION: EC use had a high prevalence among female university students, however, several gaps in method knowledge still exists and it demonstrates the importance of discussing this issue earlier and planning actions of an informative nature.