Perceived Susceptibility to Pregnancy, Contraceptive Use and Associated Factors Among College Female Students in Fitche Town, Oromia, Ethiopia, 2022

Background: - Women who choose not to use contraception or who use inefficient methods may be at risk of unintended pregnancy because they mistakenly assume that they will not become pregnant. Despite the wide availability and accessibility of contraceptive methods globally, their use remains low among young women in low- and middle-income countries including Ethiopia. One of the reasons young women have reported their non-use of contraceptive methods is that their perceived susceptibility to pregnancy makes them decide not to use or discontinue contraceptive methods. This study aimedto assess perceived susceptibility to pregnancy, contraceptive use, and associated factors among female college students in Fitche Town. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March 08 to May 07/2022 among college female students in Fitche Town. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 419 participants. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to gather the data. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS version 22. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and P-value < 0.05, were used to assess the strength and existence of association with the outcome variable. Results: In total, 419 respondents participated in the study making a response rate of 100%. Approximately 78% (95%CI:64.21,91.79) of the respondents had high perceived susceptibility to pregnancy, and 40.1%(95%CI:34.21,45.99) of the study participants never used contraceptives. Respondents aged 20-24 years (AOR=2.21; 95%CI: 1.19, 4.13) and the number of current sexual partners (AOR=0.041;95%CI:0.02, 0.73) were significantly associated with perceived susceptibility to pregnancy, while marital status (AOR=0.144; 95%CI:0.043, 0.488), Ever had discussed family planning with parents (AOR=7.273;95% CI:1.33,39.86) and contraceptive knowledge (AOR=13.65;95%CI: 2.38,78.21) were significantly associated with contraceptive use. Conclusion and recommendation: The prevalence of perceived susceptibility to pregnancy was high, and contraceptive use was within the acceptable range when compared with a previous study. There should be work in the area of disseminating reproductive health information by establishing and promoting sexual and reproductive clubs in schools to increase awareness and knowledge of reproductive health and contraceptive methods.