Masters Thesis

Examining Knowledge and Attitudes on Family Planning Among College Students

Almost half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends individuals of childbearing age receive preconception care and develop a reproductive life plan to decrease unintended pregnancies. The reproductive life plans allow individuals to set personal and reproductive goals to decide whether or not to have children and to optimize their overall health. The purpose of this study was to examine awareness, knowledge, and attitudes about family planning among California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) college students. A cross-sectional study was conducted at CSUSM between March 2019. Participants were recruited via CSUSM’s Human Participation Pool. Participation was voluntary. Participants responses were analyzed by gender. A total of 91 college students participated in the study. No statistical significance was found when analyzing by gender. However, in the overall sample, while only 16.5% reported awareness of the reproductive life plan, over 80% reported that it was “very” or “extremely” important to have after learning about it. Participants rated eating healthy (73.3%), taking multivitamins (56.7%), immunizations (81.3%), and STI screenings (59.3%) as extremely important components for preconception care. Eighty-eight percent of participants were interested in discussing with their providers how to have a safe and healthy pregnancy. Majority of the study participants identified that having a reproductive life plan as important. This study identified gaps in knowledge regarding the reproductive life plan and preconception care among college aged students. Reproductive health is important because it sets the stage for health concerns later in life and can affect the next generation. Preconception care is important for both men and women. Overall preconception care can improve pregnancy planning, spacing, preventing unintended pregnancies, and negative birth outcomes.

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