Assessing Student Awareness towards the Effects of Unintended Pregnancy: The case of Female students’ at Mettu College of Teachers Education.

Abstract

Many Researches have been conducted to investigate the attitude, knowledge and practice of students towards sexual issues in higher education of Ethiopia. However, neither of the research has been given attention to female students of Mettu College of teachers’ education (MCTE). This study intends to investigate female students’ awareness towards the effects of unintended pregnancy at the College under study. The study also attempts to identify some qualitative and quantitative forms obtained through official document analysis, questionnaire, focus group discussion and interviews with key informants who were purposively selected from students and other concerned bodies. Data analysis was made quantitatively and qualitatively. As the findings demonstrate, abortion was significantly prevailed among students of the college. The evidence obtained from Mettu Karl hospital abortion care and compressive room indicated 497 students of the college terminated pregnancy (abortion) in the year of 2013. All of the participants described that, there is no a designed program that creates awareness towards sexual issue in the college. Majority of the respondents perceived that unanticipated sexual intercourse and to gain academic or economic benefit might be the major factors exposing students of the college to unintended pregnancy. All of the key informants and FGD participants thought that “…Students may read or heard from Medias about the outcome of unintended pregnancy, but this is not adequate they should need more understanding concerning to sexual health issue, because they have knowledge of limited information, they may not be fully aware of the consequences of the problem…”. 

Thus, intervention strategies should be instituted to prevent the negative consequence of unsafe sex. Finally, the researcher has a strong belief that these findings could address the problem of the issue to the concerned bodies, and create awareness about unintended pregnancy.

Keywords: Unintended pregnancy, Awareness, Unsafe sex.