Contraceptive knowledge, sexual behavior, and factors associated with contraceptive use among female undergraduate university students in Kilimanjaro region in Tanzania

Figures & data

Table 1 Social demographic characteristics of the participants (N=401)

Characteristics	n	%
Age (years), mean (standard deviation)	24.39 (4.28)
Age group (years)
16–20	5	1.2
20–24	255	63.6
25–29	96	23.9
30+	48	11.1
Marital status
Single	307	76.6
Cohabiting	16	4.0
Married	77	19.2
Widow	1	0.2
Religion
Christian	349	87.5
Muslim	49	12.2
Other	3	0.7
Alcohol intake
Yes	26	6.7
No	375	93.3
Name of the university
Mwenge Catholic University	201	50.1
Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College	136	33.9
Moshi Cooperative University	44	10.9
Mweka Wildlife University	20	5.0

Table 2 Source of information and contraceptive knowledge among participants (N=401)

Characteristics	n	%
Ever heard about contraceptives?
Yes	376	93.8
Source of information
Friends/peers	175	44.8
Health facility	157	40.2
Television	157	40.3
Health care workers	152	39.0
Radio	146	37.5
Internet	126	32.2
Family member/partner	122	31.2
Poster/banner	54	13.8
Modern contraceptive ever heard
Condom	308	78.0
Pills	238	60.4
Injectable/Depo-Provera	175	44.4
Implants	144	36.6
Intrauterine devices	118	29.9
Female sterilization (BTL)	102	25.9
Vasectomy	98	24.8
Diaphragm	95	24.1
Spermicides	81	20.6
Traditional contraceptives ever heard
Withdrawal	199	50.4
Periodic abstinence	186	47.0
Lactation amenorrhea	62	15.7

Abbreviation: BTL, bilateral tubal ligation.

Table 3 Sexual behavior and contraceptive use among female undergraduate students (N=260)

Sexual behavior and use of contraceptives	n	%
Ever used	175	43.6
Current users	162	40.4
Ever had sex (sexually active participants)	260	64.8
Age at first sex (years), mean (standard deviation)	24.39 (4.28)
Age group at first sexa
20–24	141	54.2
25+	119	45.8
Type of contraception used (ever used) (N=175)
Modern contraceptive usedb
Condom	128	73.14
Pills	36	20.6
Others	18	10.2
Injectable/Depo-Provera	12	6.9
Traditional contraceptive usedb
Periodic Abstinence	76	43.4
Withdrawal	75	42.9
Lactation amenorrhea	1	0.5
Type of contraception (current users) (N=162)
Modern methods usedb
Condom	89	54.9
Pills	14	8.6
Intrauterine devices	14	8.6
Injectable/Depo-Provera	10	6.1
Others	4	2.4
Traditional methods usedb
Periodic abstinence (calendar method)	63	38.9
Withdrawal	44	27.2
Lactation amenorrhea	2	1.2

Notes:

a Values do not add to the total because some participants (n=11) did not disclose their age at first sex.

b Some respondents mentioned more than one method; thus, the values do not add to total study group of 260 for respondents who were sexually active.

Table 4 Factors associated with contraceptive use (N=260)

Characteristics	Current use of contraceptive, n (%)
	Yes	No	OR (95% CI)
Demographics
Marital status
Unmarried	120 (74.1)	204 (85.4)	1.0
Married	42 (25.9)	35 (14.6)	0.49 (0.29–0.81)
Sexual behavior
Ever had sex
Yes	159 (39.4)	101 (25.4)	53.05 (19.04–147.85)
No	3 (1.0)	138 (34.2)	1.0
Education level at first sex
Secondary school	79 (67.5)	38 (32.5)	0.675 (0.34–1.14)
University level	73 (58.4)	52 (41.6)	1.0

Abbreviations: OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.