Prevalence of Medical Students Who Use Contraceptive Methods

Abstract

The use of contraceptive methods is of extreme importance to family planning and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Such infections are transmitted through sexual (vaginal, anal and oral) contact and can be prevented with the adequate use of a condom. The present cross-sectional study was conducted with medical students at a teaching institution in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, involving the application of an online questionnaire for the analysis of the type of contraceptive method and reasons for the choice of method. The prevalence of contraceptive methods during the first sexual relation was 86.9%; 7.59% of the women and 13.2% of the men who answered the questionnaire reported not using contraceptive methods during the first relation. Regarding current sexual relations, 70.2% of the students who declared an active sex life reported using a male condom and 4.3% reported using a female condom, which are important contraceptive methods that also serve for the prevention of STIs. In conclusion, the majority of medical students had initiated a sexual life and used contraceptive methods beginning with the first relation. The male condom was the most widely used among the respondents, followed by anti-conceptional methods.