KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE OF RURAL COLLEGE STUDENTS REGARDING CONTRACEPTION

INTRODUCTION: The contraceptive knowledge of today's teenagers decides the future of contraceptive practices of tomorrow's eligible couples. High abortion rate of 46% 2 of live births is associated with lack of contraceptive awareness. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The study was conducted among 426 students belonging to 3 rural colleges in Bangalore, South India. RESULTS: Majority 83.1% of the students were aware of legal age at marriage for girls however 79.6% of the preferred 18-21 years. 78.4% of them preferred two child norm. However, the knowledge regarding contraceptive practices was poor. The awareness regarding condoms was 70.9%, 30.8% for OCPs, 8.9% for IUCD. 16.2% for Emergency contraception and 32.6% for surgical method. 82.6% of them felt that there must be spacing between two children and only 8.6% were aware of IUCD for the same. More than 50% of the students felt that family planning improves health, solves social problems and improves quality of life. CONCLUSION: The study clearly shows that though there is a positive attitude regarding family planning, there is lack of awareness regarding various contraceptive methods.