Abstract

The study sought to ascertain whether respondents know the difference between regular and emergency contraceptives and solicit their views on emergency contraceptives. The participants for this study were 22 undergraduate students of the University of Ghana (15 males and 7 females) between the ages of 18 and 25 years who volunteered to participate in the study. This study is exploratory in nature and gathered qualitative data through semistructured interviews. The interviews were electronically recorded and transcribed. All the respondents could explain what regular contraceptives are, but only four were able to define what ECs are. Some students do not know the difference between regular and emergency contraceptives. Those students who were not able to define what ECs are knew that they are used for preventing unwanted pregnancies. Respondents had different views on emergency contraceptives; while generally they agreed that it was appropriate to be used to prevent unplanned pregnancies especially due to rape, some believed they were difficult to come by. Respondent’ views about EC suggest that there is still more to be done in educating the youth on EC.

Keywords: Emergency contraceptives; Regular contraceptives; University students; Young people; Unplanned pregnancy; Ghana