Researchers have claimed that levels of prior sex education and moral attitudes toward contraception influence whether women use contraceptives to prevent pregnancy.
Valerie Bader, a clinical instructor in MU's Sinclair School of Nursing, said their study showed that when women had more comprehensive sex education that consisted of information about healthy relationships, abstinence from sexual intercourse and how to properly use contraceptives, they were more likely to seek health care and use contraception compared to women who received abstinence-only sex education.
Bader said they also found that when women believe contraception is morally wrong, they were less likely to visit women's health clinics or use contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
Bader and her colleagues analyzed data from a national survey of 900 unmarried women ages 18-29 to better understand how contraceptive knowledge and attitudes affect the likelihood that women will visit health clinics or use contraceptives to prevent unintended pregnancies.
The findings provide a better understanding of the factors involved in women's decisions about contraceptives and can assist health professionals and educators in developing interventions to improve acceptance and correct use of contraceptives, Bader said.
The study has published in the Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health.