Analysis of Contraceptives' Information Sources among Undergraduates in Lagos State

Abstract

The quantity and quality of information received may determine the use of contraceptives. Previous studies on reproductive health of undergraduates focused on knowledge and use of contraceptives among students but gave little attention to the sources of contraceptives information. This study therefore investigated the sources of contraceptives' information by undergraduates in Lagos State. The objectives of the study were to: examine the extent to which undergraduates receive contraceptives information and identify the sources of contraceptives' information. The study was guided by uses and gratification theory and protection motivation theory. The study adopted the descriptive research design; it utilized quantitative and qualitative data generated through survey method and focus group discussion. A self-designed questionnaire and focus group discussion guide were used as research instruments. The study employed multi-stage sampling procedure comprising stratification, simple random sampling, purposive sampling and available sampling techniques while Krejcie and Morgan formula for sampling was used to select 1,127 undergraduates from University of Lagos, Lagos State University and Caleb University. Three groups of thirty students, comprising ten male and female students from each of the selected university were formed for the FGD. Quantitative data were analysed using percentages while qualitative data were subjected to theme mapping. Most of the undergraduates (82.4%) said they rarely receive information on contraceptives from the mainstream media while majority (87.3%) believed that they were not adequately exposed to information on contraceptives. Results indicate that social media and other online platforms are the leading source of information (98.4%) on contraceptives among undergraduates. Findings from the FGD align with results from the survey. The discussants agreed that most of their knowledge on contraceptives are derived from social media while the mainstream media and school rarely provide such information. Accordingly, the study recommended that the mainstream media should create more programmes and contents on sex education with special campaigns on use of contraceptives; such contents should be broadcast and published on their major social media platforms while all universities in Lagos State should organize periodic campaigns and programmes on contraceptives use among students.