Awareness and Attitude to Liberalized Safe Abortion Services among Female Students in University and Colleges of Arba Minch Town, Ethiopia

Worku Animaw; Binyam Bogale

doi:doi:10.11648/j.sjph.20140205.20

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Awareness and Attitude to Liberalized Safe Abortion Services among Female Students in University and Colleges of Arba Minch Town, Ethiopia

Worku Animaw, Binyam Bogale

Published in Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 2, Issue 5)

Received: 10 August 2014 Accepted: 25 August 2014 Published: 10 September 2014

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Abstract

Background: Unsafe abortion is a significant cause of maternal mortality and morbidity globally. In 2005, the Ethiopian penal code was amended to permit abortion under specific circumstances to minimize the problem. However, its practice is hampered by lack of awareness of the revised criminal code and access to the service. Methods: Institution based cross-sectional qualitative and quantitative study has been conducted to assess awareness and attitude of university and college female students’ to the law. A sample of 845 students from one university and three colleges of Arba Minch town were selected by multistage sampling method. Data entry, cleaning and coding were performed using SPSS version 16 and analyzed with the same soft ware. Associations between dependent and independent variables were tested using logistic regression. P-values > 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant in all cases. Result: Twenty three (43%) among 54 pregnancies were reported as ended with induced abortion. Ethiopia’s abortion law was expected to increase women’s access to safe abortion services but only 261 (32.1%) of college and university students of Arba Minch town were aware about this law after 6 years of liberalization. Better level of awareness had been recorded in health science students as compared with natural science students (OR (95% CI) = 2.8 (1.9, 4.2). Only 246 (30.3%) among all participants (813) were found to have positive attitude towards criteria set to induce abortion. This is roughly in line with health professionals’ attitude at the time safe abortion service was on the process of liberalization. Conclusion: Religion, college (specialty) and sexual experience of students found to be the factors affecting attitude. The knowledge gap may let the students continually suffer from unsafe abortion sequel; so stakeholders should work on awareness creation.

Published in	Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 2, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.sjph.20140205.20
Page(s)	440-446
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Awareness, Attitude, Inducing Abortion Law, Ethiopia, Female Students

References

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[2]	Berer M. Making abortions safe: a matter of good public health policy and practice, Geneva , Bull World Health Organ, 2000, 78(5).
[3]	Elias S., Getu Degu A., Nuru A., Hailu Y. Prevalence and associated risk factors of Induced Abortion in northwest Ethiopia, Ethiop.J.Health Dev. 2005;19(1):37-44.
[4]	Kebede Y. Contraceptive prevalence and factors associated with usage of contraceptive around Gondar town. Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2000; 14(13): 327-34.
[5]	Pathfinder International Ethiopia: Feature Stories. “Youth in Need of Services in Ethiopia: Pathfinder Working to Ensure Needs Are Met.” Apr. 2008.
[6]	Singh S, Fetters T, Gebreselassie H, Abdella A, Gebrehiwot Y, Kumbi S and Audam S, The estimated incidence of induced abortion in Ethiopia, International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2010, 36(1):16–25.
[7]	Hailemichael G, Tamara F, Susheela S, Caring for Women with Abortion Complications in Ethiopia: National Estimates and Future Implications, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 2010, 36(1): 6–15
[8]	Federal Democratic Republic Ethiopia, The Criminal Code of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Proclamation Number 414/2004, Article, 551, 2004.
[9]	Neesha G., Anna S. and Rachel V. Bridging the Gaps: Implementation of Comprehensive Abortion Care in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2008.
[10]	Central Statistical Agency. Ethiopia demographic and health survey 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2012.
[11]	Ojha N, Sharma S. and Paudel J. Post legalization challenge: minimizing complications of abortion, Nepal, Kathmandu University Medical Journal (2003) 2(2), Issue 6, 131-136.
[12]	Anand T., Ramesh A., and Shekhar D. Increasing Awareness and Access to Safe Abortion Among Nepalese Women.Center for Research on Environment. Downloaded from, www.crehpa.org.np. Accessed on September 2010.
[13]	IPAS Ethiopia, Abortion in Ethiopia – Fast Facts, Downloaded for www.NotYetRain.org. Accessed on September 2010.
[14]	World Health Organization (WHO), Unsafe Abortion: Global and Regional Estimates of the Incidence of Unsafe Abortion and Associated Mortality in 2003, fifth ed., Geneva: WHO, 2007.
[15]	Federal Ministry of Health of Ethiopia. 2005. Health sector strategic plan (HSDP-III) 2005/6-2009/10. Government of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa
[16]	Yirgu G., Solomon T., Takele G. et al. Caring for Women with Abortion Complications in Ethiopia. International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 2009; 36(1):20 – 45.
[17]	Ethiopian Society of Obstetrician and Gynecologists. KAP study on abortion among Ethiopian health workers. BSSP. 2002.
[18]	Abay, H. Assessment of the attitude of 15 - 49 year old women and men towards legalization of abortion in Mekele town, Tigray, Ethiopia. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Addis Ababa Univesity; 2002.
[19]	Central Statistical Agency. Summary and Statistical Report of Population and Housing Census Results. Addis Ababa: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); December 2008.
[20]	Sara J., Michelle B. etal. A detailed Summary of Anti Abortion Research Paper. NYC, USA, 2010.

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APA Style

Worku Animaw, Binyam Bogale. (2014). Awareness and Attitude to Liberalized Safe Abortion Services among Female Students in University and Colleges of Arba Minch Town, Ethiopia. Science Journal of Public Health, 2(5), 440-446. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140205.20

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ACS Style

Worku Animaw; Binyam Bogale. Awareness and Attitude to Liberalized Safe Abortion Services among Female Students in University and Colleges of Arba Minch Town, Ethiopia. Sci. J. Public Health 2014, 2(5), 440-446. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140205.20

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AMA Style

Worku Animaw, Binyam Bogale. Awareness and Attitude to Liberalized Safe Abortion Services among Female Students in University and Colleges of Arba Minch Town, Ethiopia. Sci J Public Health. 2014;2(5):440-446. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140205.20

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@article{10.11648/j.sjph.20140205.20,
  author = {Worku Animaw and Binyam Bogale},
  title = {Awareness and Attitude to Liberalized Safe Abortion Services among Female Students in University and Colleges of Arba Minch Town, Ethiopia},
  journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
  volume = {2},
  number = {5},
  pages = {440-446},
  doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20140205.20},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140205.20},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20140205.20},
  abstract = {Background: Unsafe abortion is a significant cause of maternal mortality and morbidity globally. In 2005, the Ethiopian penal code was amended to permit abortion under specific circumstances to minimize the problem. However, its practice is hampered by lack of awareness of the revised criminal code and access to the service. Methods: Institution based cross-sectional qualitative and quantitative study has been conducted to assess awareness and attitude of university and college female students’ to the law. A sample of 845 students from one university and three colleges of Arba Minch town were selected by multistage sampling method. Data entry, cleaning and coding were performed using SPSS version 16 and analyzed with the same soft ware. Associations between dependent and independent variables were tested using logistic regression. P-values > 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant in all cases. Result: Twenty three (43%) among 54 pregnancies were reported as ended with induced abortion. Ethiopia’s abortion law was expected to increase women’s access to safe abortion services but only 261 (32.1%) of college and university students of Arba Minch town were aware about this law after 6 years of liberalization. Better level of awareness had been recorded in health science students as compared with natural science students (OR (95% CI) = 2.8 (1.9, 4.2). Only 246 (30.3%) among all participants (813) were found to have positive attitude towards criteria set to induce abortion. This is roughly in line with health professionals’ attitude at the time safe abortion service was on the process of liberalization. Conclusion: Religion, college (specialty) and sexual experience of students found to be the factors affecting attitude. The knowledge gap may let the students continually suffer from unsafe abortion sequel; so stakeholders should work on awareness creation.},
 year = {2014}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Awareness and Attitude to Liberalized Safe Abortion Services among Female Students in University and Colleges of Arba Minch Town, Ethiopia
AU - Worku Animaw
AU - Binyam Bogale
Y1 - 2014/09/10
PY - 2014
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140205.20
DO - 10.11648/j.sjph.20140205.20
T2 - Science Journal of Public Health
JF - Science Journal of Public Health
JO - Science Journal of Public Health
SP - 440
EP - 446
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2328-7950
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140205.20
AB - Background: Unsafe abortion is a significant cause of maternal mortality and morbidity globally. In 2005, the Ethiopian penal code was amended to permit abortion under specific circumstances to minimize the problem. However, its practice is hampered by lack of awareness of the revised criminal code and access to the service. Methods: Institution based cross-sectional qualitative and quantitative study has been conducted to assess awareness and attitude of university and college female students’ to the law. A sample of 845 students from one university and three colleges of Arba Minch town were selected by multistage sampling method. Data entry, cleaning and coding were performed using SPSS version 16 and analyzed with the same soft ware. Associations between dependent and independent variables were tested using logistic regression. P-values > 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant in all cases. Result: Twenty three (43%) among 54 pregnancies were reported as ended with induced abortion. Ethiopia’s abortion law was expected to increase women’s access to safe abortion services but only 261 (32.1%) of college and university students of Arba Minch town were aware about this law after 6 years of liberalization. Better level of awareness had been recorded in health science students as compared with natural science students (OR (95% CI) = 2.8 (1.9, 4.2). Only 246 (30.3%) among all participants (813) were found to have positive attitude towards criteria set to induce abortion. This is roughly in line with health professionals’ attitude at the time safe abortion service was on the process of liberalization. Conclusion: Religion, college (specialty) and sexual experience of students found to be the factors affecting attitude. The knowledge gap may let the students continually suffer from unsafe abortion sequel; so stakeholders should work on awareness creation.
VL - 2
IS - 5
ER -

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Author Information

Worku Animaw

College of Medicine and Health Science, Bahir Dar University
Binyam Bogale

College of Medicine and Health Science, Arba Minch University NechSar Campus Po, Box 21, Arba Minch, Ethiopia

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APA Style

Worku Animaw, Binyam Bogale. (2014). Awareness and Attitude to Liberalized Safe Abortion Services among Female Students in University and Colleges of Arba Minch Town, Ethiopia. Science Journal of Public Health, 2(5), 440-446. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140205.20

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ACS Style

Worku Animaw; Binyam Bogale. Awareness and Attitude to Liberalized Safe Abortion Services among Female Students in University and Colleges of Arba Minch Town, Ethiopia. Sci. J. Public Health 2014, 2(5), 440-446. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140205.20

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AMA Style

Worku Animaw, Binyam Bogale. Awareness and Attitude to Liberalized Safe Abortion Services among Female Students in University and Colleges of Arba Minch Town, Ethiopia. Sci J Public Health. 2014;2(5):440-446. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140205.20

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@article{10.11648/j.sjph.20140205.20,
  author = {Worku Animaw and Binyam Bogale},
  title = {Awareness and Attitude to Liberalized Safe Abortion Services among Female Students in University and Colleges of Arba Minch Town, Ethiopia},
  journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
  volume = {2},
  number = {5},
  pages = {440-446},
  doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20140205.20},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140205.20},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20140205.20},
  abstract = {Background: Unsafe abortion is a significant cause of maternal mortality and morbidity globally. In 2005, the Ethiopian penal code was amended to permit abortion under specific circumstances to minimize the problem. However, its practice is hampered by lack of awareness of the revised criminal code and access to the service. Methods: Institution based cross-sectional qualitative and quantitative study has been conducted to assess awareness and attitude of university and college female students’ to the law. A sample of 845 students from one university and three colleges of Arba Minch town were selected by multistage sampling method. Data entry, cleaning and coding were performed using SPSS version 16 and analyzed with the same soft ware. Associations between dependent and independent variables were tested using logistic regression. P-values > 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant in all cases. Result: Twenty three (43%) among 54 pregnancies were reported as ended with induced abortion. Ethiopia’s abortion law was expected to increase women’s access to safe abortion services but only 261 (32.1%) of college and university students of Arba Minch town were aware about this law after 6 years of liberalization. Better level of awareness had been recorded in health science students as compared with natural science students (OR (95% CI) = 2.8 (1.9, 4.2). Only 246 (30.3%) among all participants (813) were found to have positive attitude towards criteria set to induce abortion. This is roughly in line with health professionals’ attitude at the time safe abortion service was on the process of liberalization. Conclusion: Religion, college (specialty) and sexual experience of students found to be the factors affecting attitude. The knowledge gap may let the students continually suffer from unsafe abortion sequel; so stakeholders should work on awareness creation.},
 year = {2014}
}

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