Knowledge and Perceptions of Contraceptive Health Among College Students in Vietnam and the United States

Abstract

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to compare the knowledge, perceptions, and awareness of contraceptives among college students in Vietnam and the United States (US). Methods: The cross-sectional data were collected using a self-administered survey from January to March of 2019 in Vietnam and the US. There were 546 Vietnamese participants and 538 US participants. Nearly 70% of the participants were female. The average age was 20.37. The measures used included the knowledge, awareness and perceptions of contraceptive health. Results: US participants reported higher levels of knowledge, awareness and positive perceptions than those in Vietnam. The US and Vietnamese college students expressed different perspectives regarding the most effective and the most widely used contraceptive methods (e.g., condom vs IUD). Additionally, the results suggest that having a positive perception on contraceptive use can potentially mediate the relationship between knowledge and awareness. Conclusion: Social and cultural factors play a large role in shaping one’s attitude and awareness of contraceptives. Interpersonal relationships between students and their friends and families play a large role in both the amount and accuracy of the information they are given. The gap between knowing about contraceptives and using them, could be attributed to the sensitive nature of the topic. Public campaigns on other modern contraceptive choices and promotion on mass media may be a good solution.

Keywords:

• Contraceptives
• college students
• sexual health
• Vietnam
• United States
• awareness

Acknowledgments

We thank Megan Reynolds, Anita Pascoe, Ty Montour, Eleanor Divver-Shields, Juliet Carlisle, David Curtis, Sarah Grineski, Juliet Franklin, James Curry, Lee Rigby, and Cindy Fierros Xuan Anh Nguyen for their help on survey collection. We also thank Trang Nguyen for translating the survey materials.

Internal Review Board (IRB) statement

This project was approved by the University of Utah Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest relevant to this manuscript.