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Effect of Health Education on Knowledge of Emergency Contraception among Female University Students in Nigeria

Abstract

Emergency contraception is an important reproductive health option that can help prevent unintended pregnancy following unprotected sexual intercourse or contraceptive failure. Despite its potential benefits, female university students in Nigeria may have limited knowledge of emergency contraception, including its appropriate indications, available methods, timing, effectiveness, limitations, safety, side effects, and misconceptions. Inadequate knowledge may contribute to inappropriate use, delayed access, reliance on misinformation, and missed opportunities to prevent unintended pregnancy. Health education provides an opportunity to improve students' understanding of emergency contraception and support informed reproductive health decision-making. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of health education on knowledge of emergency contraception among female university students in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Theory of Planned Behavior, and Health Literacy Framework. The Health Belief Model explains how students' perceptions of susceptibility to unintended pregnancy, perceived severity, perceived benefits of emergency contraception, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and cues to action may influence their knowledge and reproductive health decisions. The Theory of Planned Behavior emphasizes attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and behavioural intentions in shaping contraceptive-related decision-making. The Health Literacy Framework emphasizes students' ability to access, understand, evaluate, and apply accurate reproductive health information when making decisions about emergency contraception. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how health education may influence knowledge of emergency contraception among female university students in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise female undergraduate and postgraduate students aged 18 years and above enrolled in selected public and private universities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, universities, faculties or departments, levels of study, and eligible students. Health education will be assessed using indicators such as exposure to educational sessions, frequency and duration of education, information on emergency contraception, available methods, appropriate indications, timing of use, effectiveness, limitations, safety, common side effects, misconceptions, distinction between emergency and routine contraception, prevention of sexually transmitted infections, appropriate sources of reproductive health information, and access to qualified healthcare providers. Knowledge of emergency contraception will be assessed using indicators such as students' ability to define emergency contraception, identify appropriate indications, recognize available methods, understand the importance of timely use, understand effectiveness and limitations, identify common side effects, distinguish emergency contraception from abortion, understand that emergency contraception does not protect against sexually transmitted infections, recognize situations requiring professional advice, and identify reliable sources of information. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized emergency-contraception knowledge assessment tools, scenario-based questions, and pre-test and post-test assessments where a quasi-experimental intervention is adopted. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' demographic and academic characteristics, previous exposure to contraceptive information, sources of reproductive health information, awareness levels, and knowledge scores. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired and independent t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of health education on knowledge of emergency contraception. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, knowledge scores before and after the educational intervention may be compared with those of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that health education has a significant positive effect on knowledge of emergency contraception among female university students in Nigeria. Students exposed to structured, accurate, evidence-based, confidential, and non-judgmental reproductive health education are expected to demonstrate greater knowledge of emergency contraception than students without comparable exposure. Education may improve understanding of appropriate indications, available methods, timing, effectiveness, limitations, safety, common side effects, and the distinction between emergency contraception and abortion. It may also help students identify misinformation and seek reliable reproductive health information from qualified healthcare professionals and appropriate health services. However, cultural and religious beliefs, stigma surrounding contraceptive use, misinformation from peers and social media, fear of side effects, concerns about confidentiality, limited access to reproductive health services, and misconceptions about emergency contraception may reduce the effectiveness of education alone. The study therefore expects accessible, culturally sensitive, evidence-based, confidential, and sustained health education to contribute significantly to improved knowledge of emergency contraception among female university students in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on emergency contraception, reproductive health education, contraceptive knowledge, unintended pregnancy prevention, university student health, sexual and reproductive health, health literacy, family planning, health promotion, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Education, universities, university health centres, reproductive health professionals, family-planning providers, public health practitioners, student organizations, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving reproductive health knowledge among young women. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating emergency-contraception education into university reproductive health programmes, improving access to accurate contraceptive information, strengthening confidential reproductive health services, addressing misconceptions and stigma, promoting appropriate healthcare-seeking, and developing sustainable reproductive health education interventions for female university students across Nigeria.

Keywords: Health education, emergency contraception, emergency-contraception knowledge, female university students, reproductive health, contraceptive education, unintended pregnancy prevention, health literacy, family planning, Nigeria, public health.