Abstract

Background: Emergency contraceptive methods help in preventing pregnancy following 72–120 h of unprotected sexual intercourse. Emergency contraceptive pills (ECP) are available over the counter (OTC) in India since 2005. In India, studies on emergency contraceptives have been mainly carried out on females. Both male and female partner owe responsibility for pregnancy. Hence, we carried out this study among both male and female adolescents.
Objective: To find the awareness and attitude toward the use of emergency contraceptives among adolescents of Jamnagar.
Materials and Methods: Our study included both male and female adolescent participants (MAP and FAP, respectively) who were educated upto Class Ten. A pre-validated and pretested questionnaire was used as a tool for the study. It con- tained questions on knowledge and attitude regarding ECP usage. Result: Completed questionnaires were obtained from 403 adolescents, MAP (n = 198) and FAP (n = 205). Knowledge about ECP was inadequate in adolescents (47% in MAP and 49% in FAP). Knowledge about cost was more in MAP (39%) than FAP (31%). Electronic media was the most common source of information in our study (43% by MAP and 36% by FAP). Knowledge about adverse reactions of ECP was poor in adolescents (19% in MAP and 21% in FAP). MAP had a more positive attitude compared to FAP with regard to availability of ECP as OTC medicines (43% and 36%, respectively). Conclusion: Education about ECP among adolescent population is necessary. There is a need of more studies on ECPs in rural areas and among less educated adolescents.