Perceptions of contraceptives of adolescents in Kampala, Uganda

This paper explores adolescents’ perceptions of contraceptives and how these perceptions relate to their intention to engage in safe sexual behaviour. Ten in-depth interviews and six focus group discussions were conducted with adolescents aged 15-19 at a mixed secondary school in the capital Kampala in April-May 2008. The findings show that most participants aim to abstain because of the high perceived risk of pregnancy and contracting HIV, the high perceived unreliability of condoms, and the severe perceived side effects of other modern contraceptives. However, in situations where adolescents will have sex, these perceptions may contribute to a preference of using less reliable traditional methods or even no methods. It is recommended to include comprehensive teaching of contraceptives in sexuality education programmes for adolescents and in the training for sexuality educators.