Knowledge, Attitudes and Perception of Students on Teenage Pregnancy: A Case Study of Rural Based University Students in South Africa

摘要

Pregnancy among teenagers especially those that are at tertiary institutions seem to be an increasing problem. Teenagers and adolescents have been observed to be sexually active, with about 85 percent of teenage girls being sexually active at the age of 19 years, some of them experiencing their first intercourse at a low age of 12 years. The purpose of the study was to explore and describe knowledge, attitudes and perception of tertiary students towards teenage pregnancy. A qualitative, explorative and descriptive design was used. The population included all tertiary students from one selected institution. Non-probability convenience sample was used to sample 110 participants (58 females and 52 males) for focus groups discussions. Purposive sampling was used to select 17 female students, ten (10) pregnant and seven that delivered a baby whilst at university for in-depth interviews. Data was analyzed qualitatively through open coding. Four sub-themes emerge, that is knowledge about pregnancy, participants' views about pregnancy at the university, factors influencing pregnancy and participants' experiences of pregnancy whilst studying. Results emanating from the themes were used to propose recommendations on the best strategies that could reduce pregnancy rate at the selected institution. Trustworthiness was ensured by applying Lincoln and Guba's model to ensure ethical considerations.