Knowledge, Attitude and Use of Contraceptive Among Secondary School Students in the Gambia

Abstract Background: Family planning assists individuals and couples in anticipating and achieving their desired number of children as well as the spacing and timing of their births. The public healthcare system in many nations neglects adolescents and young people. Lack of proper awareness and utilization of family planning services by secondary school students poses a significant public health challenge, particularly as the government strives to reduce mother and child morbidity and mortality in the Gambia. This paper aimed at assessing the knowledge, attitude, and use of contraceptives among secondary school students in The Gambia. METHODOLOGY: An exploratory cross-sectional study was conducted among secondary school students in The Gambia. Semi-structured questionnaire was administered to students through face-to-face interviews. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22.0. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data. RESULTS: The findings showed a low level of good knowledge of family planning with only 17.5% of the participants having good knowledge. The most common source of information was radio and television. The attitude of students towards family planning was relatively positive with 50.4% had positive attitude. About one in ten (9.8%) were practicing family planning. Seventy-nine (20.8%) were sexually active and out of these 41.3% were engaged in risky sexual behaviors. CONCLUSION: There was a low level of good knowledge and uptake of family planning commodities in both regions and the proportion of urban participants with positive attitudes was higher than the rural.