Gender Difference, Knowledge and Perception of Youths Towards Contraceptives Usage in Kano State, Nigeria

Abstract

Over the years Nigeria has, compared to developed nations, recorded high
rates of both sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and maternal deaths
resulting from unsafe abortions in response to unwanted pregnancies. This
study was carried out to investigate gender difference, knowledge and
perception of youths towards contraceptives in Kano State, Nigeria. A sample
of 250 youths from five local government areas was drawn using simple
random sampling techniques and the descriptive research design was adopted for the study. A self-developed closed ended questionnaire with four different scales tagged “Gender differences, knowledge and perception of youths towards contraceptives use among Youths Questionnaire (GDKPCUQ) was used to generate data, and generated data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts, simple percentages, T-.test, ANOVA, and Chisquare. Despite Youths’ high awareness of the existence of contraceptive methods and continuous engagement in sexual activity, the findings of this study show that level of actual contraceptive knowledge as well as the rate of contraceptive use among youths was found to be not too low or too high. The internet media was found to be the major source of contraceptive information for Youths; this makes it likely that incorrect or incomplete information is conveyed to Youths, which could lead to them developing negative attitudes towards contraceptive use or being exposed to the dangers of contraceptive challenges.