{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]],"date-time":"2026-06-26T07:33:32Z","timestamp":1782459212936,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,18]],"date-time":"2025-03-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1742256000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":17,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Health Science Reports"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background and Aims<\/jats:title><jats:p>Emergency contraception is a simple and safe method of preventing unwanted pregnancy following an unprotected or nonconsensual sexual encounter. University students have a history of engaging in risky sexual behaviors, leading to unintended pregnancies among female undergraduates. This study assessed the utilization of emergency contraceptives (EC) among female college students in rural Ghana.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>This quantitative cross\u2010sectional study was conducted among 310 female college students from two institutions \u2013 Midwifery Training College and the Tumu College of Education \u2013 located in the Sissala East Municipality of the Upper West region of Ghana. A structured questionnaire consisting of four sections was utilized as the data collection instrument. The univariable and multivariable logistic regression was performed to determine the sociodemographic factors and knowledge level associated with emergency contraceptive utilization. Statistical analysis was performed utilizing SPSS v. 25.0 and STATA v. 14.0.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>80.2% of students had heard of EC with the health worker (41.6%) and colleagues\/friends (30.8%) being the most common sources of information. Overall, the majority of participants had good knowledge (78.2%) and good attitudes (77.8%) regarding EC practice. 52% had used EC before, with more than half (69.5%) utilizing levonorgestrel\u2010only pill the most. Good Knowledge (aOR: 4.46 [95%CI: 2.28\u20108.72]; <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009&lt;\u20090.001) and being in the Midwifery College (aOR: 1.96 [95%CI: 1.14\u20103.38]; <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.015) were significantly associated with EC utilization.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Despite the majority of participants having heard of EC, most were not utilizing them appropriately due to a lack of detailed information and misconceptions. Health policymakers, heads of tertiary institutions, and educators should prioritize improving the educational curriculum and strengthening advocacy efforts in rural areas to address misconceptions and promote the benefits of EC, ultimately leading to better EC utilization and a reduction in unwanted pregnancies.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1002\/hsr2.70575","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,19]],"date-time":"2025-03-19T04:56:02Z","timestamp":1742360162000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Factors Associated With the Utilization of Emergency Contraceptives by Female College Students in Rural Ghana: A Cross\u2010Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"8","author":[{"given":"Muhusin","family":"Alhassan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Midwifery Training College Tumu Upper West Region Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yaa Nyarko","family":"Adjeso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Population and Reproductive Health School of Public Health, University for Development Studies Tamale Northen Region Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2064-0473","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Clement Tiimim","family":"Yanbom","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ghana Health Service, Sissala West District Health Directorate  Upper West Region Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-9784-9970","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Samuel Kwame Sopuruchi","family":"Agomuo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Medicine School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi Ashanti region Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_11_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"157","DOI":"10.1186\/s12905-018-0649-2","article-title":"Modern Contraceptive Use Among Reproductive\u2010Aged Women in Ghana: Prevalence, Predictors, and Policy Implications","volume":"18","author":"Beson P.","year":"2018","journal-title":"BMC Women's Health"},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_2_11_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e380","DOI":"10.1016\/S2214-109X(18)30029-9","article-title":"Global, Regional, and Subregional Trends in Unintended Pregnancy and Its Outcomes From 1990 to 2014: Estimates From a Bayesian Hierarchical Model","volume":"6","author":"Bearak J.","year":"2018","journal-title":"Lancet Global Health"},{"issue":"1","key":"e_1_2_11_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2","DOI":"10.1002\/ijgo.12003","article-title":"Introducing the World Health Organization Postpartum Family Planning Compendium","volume":"136","author":"Sonalkar S.","year":"2017","journal-title":"International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics: The Official Organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics"},{"issue":"1","key":"e_1_2_11_5_1","article-title":"Prevalence of and Factors Associated With Emergency Contraceptive Use Among Female Undergraduates in Arba Minch University, Southern Ethiopia, 2015: A Cross\u2010Sectional Study","volume":"2018","author":"Habitu Y. 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