Contraceptive use and associated factors among female university students in Rwanda: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of modern contraceptive use and associated factors among female university students at university of Rwanda.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study on the prevalence of modern contraception utilization and associated factors among female university students at the University of Rwanda. Data were collected prospectively using a structured questionnaire. We used STATA version 13 to analyze the data. Chi-squared test, Fisher exact test, and multivariate regression analysis were performed as appropriate. A P value less than 0.05 and odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to present the results significance.

Results: Among 385 female students included in the study, 34% (131/385) were using modern contraceptive methods. Being married (AOR 2.6, 95% CI: 1.05-7.10) and having a history of pregnancy (AOR 3.6, 95% CI: 1.53-8.45) were associated with modern contraceptive use. Address, educational level, and age were not associated with contraceptive use.

Conclusion: In this study, only one in three female university students were using modern contraception, which is lower than reports from other African countries. This implies there is a high need for advocacy on contraception use among university students in Rwanda.