Abortion knowledge and experiences among young women and men in Accra, Ghana

Background: Despite the presence of legal abortion services in Ghana, unsafe abortion remains common, particularly among young women. Little is understood about what young people know about safe and legal abortion, and if and how they are utilizing it. Methods: To characterize abortion use and address gaps in safe access, from September-December 2013, we conducted a cross-sectional survey with 100 men and 250 women aged 18-24 in Accra, Ghana. Participants were asked about abortion experiences, including prior services, providers, methods, satisfaction, perceived support, and knowledge of laws. Descriptive statistics, Fisher’s exact tests, and chi-square tests were performed. Results: Among surveyed youth, most (87% of women, 64% of men) thought abortion was illegal or did not know the law. In total, 30% of women and 14% of men ever had an abortion and partner who had an abortion, respectively. Among women’s most recent abortions, medication abortion (61%), surgical methods (26%), and unsafe methods categorized “least safe” (14%) were the initial or only methods used. Most women who accessed medication abortion initially or as their only method saw a pharmacist (40%) or no one (33%). Nearly one-quarter of women (n=16, 24%) who initially took tablets used more than one method. Conclusions: Despite experiences with abortion, most young people in this study were unaware of its legality and unsafe abortions occurred. More needs to be done to ensure young people understand the law and have access to safe methods, and that pharmacists are trained to provide appropriate doses and formulations of medication abortion

Replication Data for: Abortion knowledge and experiences among young women and men in Accra, Ghana

Subset of data from survey conducted of reproductive health knowledge and service access among young men and women in Accra, Ghana in 2013

Contraceptive use and unintended pregnancy among young women and men in Accra, Ghana.

The objective of this study was to determine factors associated with modern contraceptive use and unintended pregnancy among young women and men in Accra, Ghana. From September-December 2013, we conducted a cross-sectional survey with 250 women and 100 men aged 18-24. We explored determinants of modern contraceptive use among males and females and unintended pregnancy among females. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, Fisher's exact tests, and multivariable logistic regression were used. Participants had an average of three lifetime sexual partners, and 91% had one current partner. Overall, 44% reported current modern contraceptive use. In multivariate modeling, modern contraceptive use was associated with higher education compared to primary (AORs 2.1-4.3); ever talking with someone about contraception (AOR 4.7); feeling unsupported by a healthcare provider for contraception (AOR 2.2); and not feeling at risk of unintended pregnancy (AOR 2.7). While ≥70% of participants recognized most contraceptive methods, awareness of some methods was lacking. Nearly all respondents (91%) felt at least one modern method was unsafe. Nearly half of all females (45%) reported their last pregnancy was unintended, and 63% of females and 58% of males felt at risk for future unintended pregnancy. Women were more likely to experience unintended pregnancy if they had ever given birth (AOR 6.7), their sexual debut was 8-14 years versus 20-24 years (AOR 3.4), or they had 3-4 lifetime sexual partners versus 1-2 (AOR 2.4). Targeted interventions are needed to improve understanding of the safety of modern contraceptive methods, increase awareness of long-acting methods, and consequently increase modern contraceptive access and use