Department of Public Health, University of Limpopo (Medunsa Campus), P.O. Box 215, MEDUNSA 0204, South Africa.
SAHARA J. 2012;9(1):15-9. doi: 10.1080/17290376.2012.665254.
University students as a population of young adults are reportedly at a higher risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections and HIV infection than the general public due to their higher levels of sexual experimentation and unsafe sexual practices. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to find the patterns of contraceptive use among university students at Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT), KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A total of 752 students were selected by stratified random sampling techniques. A self-administered questionnaire probing contraceptive usage and reasons for non-usage was used to collect data. The results were summarized using means (SD) for continuous variables and percentages for categorical variables. Chi-square test was used to find the association between gender and contraceptive use. The mean age of the participants was 21.25 years (SD = 2.99). Fifty-nine percent (n = 442) were sexually active. Of the sexually active students, 90.7% (n = 401) used contraceptives. Among contraceptive users, 90.5% (n = 363) used condoms. Gender was not significantly associated (p = 0.327) with contraceptive use, but there was a significant association between gender and condom use as males used condom more than females (p < 0.001). Eighty-one percent (n = 323) of the sexually active students reported that they had used a contraceptive the last time they had sex. Regarding frequency of contraceptive use, 38.7% (n = 155) reported that they use contraceptives sometimes or rarely. The frequency of contraceptive use was not significantly related to gender (p = 0.305). Among 60 participants those who disapproved of using contraception, 68.3% (n = 41) were afraid that contraception would cause sterility and 6 students reported that contraception would make their partner promiscuous. In conclusion, a large proportion of university students at MUT in South Africa are sexually active and use contraception, but the use may be inconsistent. Thus, more research is needed to create interventions on contraception uptake.
大学生作为年轻人群体，据报道比普通公众更容易感染性传播感染和 HIV 感染，因为他们有更高的性实验和不安全的性行为。本横断面研究的目的是在南非夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省曼古苏图理工大学（MUT）发现大学生的避孕模式。采用分层随机抽样技术选择了 752 名学生。使用自我管理的问卷探查避孕使用情况和不使用的原因来收集数据。使用均值（SD）表示连续变量，使用百分比表示分类变量来总结结果。使用卡方检验来发现性别与避孕使用之间的关联。参与者的平均年龄为 21.25 岁（SD=2.99）。59%（n=442）有性行为。在有性行为的学生中，90.7%（n=401）使用了避孕药具。在避孕药具使用者中，90.5%（n=363）使用了避孕套。性别与避孕药具使用没有显著关联（p=0.327），但性别与避孕套使用有显著关联，因为男性比女性更常使用避孕套（p<0.001）。81%（n=323）有性行为的学生报告说，他们上次发生性行为时使用了避孕药具。关于避孕药具使用频率，38.7%（n=155）报告他们有时或很少使用避孕药具。避孕药具使用频率与性别无显著相关性（p=0.305）。在 60 名反对使用避孕药具的参与者中，68.3%（n=41）担心避孕药具会导致不育，6 名学生报告避孕药具会使他们的伴侣滥交。总之，南非 MUT 的大量大学生有性行为并使用避孕药具，但使用可能不一致。因此，需要进行更多的研究来制定关于避孕药具使用的干预措施。
