Knowledge and the Associated Factors Toward Safe Abortion Among Undergraduate Students in Ogbomoso, Oyo State

Background: Globally, unintended pregnancies and complications of unsafe induced abortions are important public health problems of the youths. Young women die from complications of unsafe abortion in developing countries. Therefore, this study assessed the knowledge and associated factors towards safe abortion among undergraduate students in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from June 1st, 2024 to July 30th, 2024, among undergraduate students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State. Data were collected from 380 male and female students using self-administered questionnaires by a multistage sampling technique. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify association of dependent and independent variables using SPSS, version 20. Results: A total of 380 respondents participated in this study. The mean age (± SD) of the study respondents was 20.22 ± 2.284 years. One hundred and sixty-one respondents (42.4%) had a good knowledge on safe abortion, while 219 (57.6%) respondents had poor knowledge on safe abortion. The relationship between knowledge of safe abortion and the respondents’ age, level in school and awareness of safe abortion were found to be statistically significant with p-values < 0.05. Conclusion: There is lack of knowledge about safe abortion among undergraduate students in Ogbomoso, Oyo state. The findings highlight the urgent need for targeted educational interventions that will promote awareness and dispel misconceptions regarding sex education and sexuality while giving consideration to the stance and disposition of Nigerian law to abortion related issue.