Comprehensive Contraceptive Education Intervention in a College Setting: Design and Methodology

Background: Unintended pregnancy continues to be a public health concern across the nation. National data demonstrates the highest rates of unintended pregnancy occurs in women who are 18 to 24 years old. Providing practical and meaningful health education about contraception has the potential to reduce unintended pregnancy and improve quality of life for young adults. This paper describes the design and methodology for a comprehensive contraceptive education intervention at a public university. Methods: Convenience sampling was used with a custom survey conducted in Women’s Health classes from 2015-2021. Surveys contained questions about demographic characteristics, knowledge of contraception options, sources of knowledge, stress levels, and confidence in knowledge. Students completed a pretest, received a comprehensive contraception health education lecture, and completed a post-test. Data collection was approved by the university’s IRB, and analyses were conducted using SPSS Version 27. Conclusion: At a time when reproductive freedom, choice, and justice is scrutinized and suppressed, it is imperative that young adults maintain and understand the importance of having control over when, where, and how they decide to have children if they desire to do so. There is a need for continued comprehensive health education and appropriate resources at the university level. The use of assessments, building trusted professor-student relationships, and exploring credible and reliable information sources can be used to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies for college-aged students. If significant, the replication of the design and methods could have a significant impact on the public health problem of unintended pregnancies, maternal health equity, and reproductive justice.

Contraceptive Use among Basic School Pupils in Ghana: A Case Study of a Municipality

Background. Ghana over the years strived to improve contraceptive services for young people through various policies and programs. Despite these efforts, contraceptive use among young people remains a challenge. In this study, contraceptive use among basic school pupils in a Ghanaian municipality was explored to inform policy and program decisions. Methods. The research design was a cross-sectional and mixed-method survey involving four hundred and twenty-seven (427) respondents randomly selected from four hundred and eleven (411) basic schools (102 from private and 309 from public basic schools) within Effutu Municipality of Ghana. Results. Basic school pupils in Ghana are generally sexually active but have high unmet needs for modern contraception due to sociocultural barriers, stigma, and misconceptions. Awareness and use are however more prevalent among junior high school pupils compared to those at the primary levels. Pupils who received contraceptive education from parents/guardians were, however, more likely to use modern contraceptives consistently than their counterparts who do not. Conclusions. Because young people in basic schools are becoming sexually active, there is a need for formalized contraceptive education in basic schools for correct information and education.

Contraceptive Use Among Basic School Pupils in a Municipality in Ghana

Background: Ghana over the years strived to improve contraceptive services for young people through various policies and programmes. Despite these efforts, contraceptives use among young people remain a challenge. In this study, contraceptive use among basic school pupils in a Ghanaian municipality was explored to inform policy and programme decisions.Methods: The research design was a cross-sectional and mixed-method survey involving four hundred and twenty-seven (427) respondents randomly selected from four hundred and eleven (411) basic schools (102 from private and 309 from public basic schools) within Effutu Municipality of GhanaResults: Basic school pupils in Ghana are generally sexually active but have high unmet needs for modern contraception due to socio-cultural barriers, stigma, and misconceptions. Awareness and use are however more prevalent among Junior High School pupils compared to those at the primary levels. Pupils who received contraceptive education from parents/guardians were, however, more likely to use modern contraceptives consistently than their counterparts who do not.Conclusions: Because young people in basic schools are becoming sexually active, there is a need for formalized contraceptive education in the basic schools for correct information and education.

Indigenous (Māori) sexual health psychologies in New Zealand: Delivering culturally congruent sexuality education

Indigenous (Māori) psychologies of sexual health occur at the cultural nexus of Indigenous and Western knowledge, colonising influence and intervention. Formal school-based sexuality education holds potential to intervene in this psychological space by decolonising notions of Māori sexuality, relationships and reproduction. This research utilises an Indigenous feminist (Mana Wāhine) methodology and interviews with 43 Māori participants (26 women and 17 men). We explore how Māori knowledges (mātauranga Māori), responsive to the surrounding colonising context, were interwoven through four themes: relationships, reproductive responsibility, open conversations about sexuality and contraceptive education. Indigenous knowledges can contribute to good sexual health psychologies for all.