BACKGROUND: The prevalence of unintended pregnancy is very high in Addis Ababa. The lack of knowledge about modern contraception methods and poor utilization are the main contributing factors to the increasing prevalence of unintended pregnancies. In this study, we aimed to determine the level of and assess factors affecting the utilization of modern contraceptive methods.

Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Addis Ababa University in 2022. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the students. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analysis were used to identify predictors of the outcome variable.
RESULTS: A total of 691 students were included in the study, with a mean age of 20.8 ± 1.3 years. More than half of the participants (56%) had ever taken sexual education lessons, and 114 (16.5%) were currently sexually active. The ever use of modern contraceptives was 19.4%, and the current use of modern contraceptives was 19.0%. Factors strongly associated with the utilization of modern contraceptives include participants' age (AOR: 0.176, 95% CI: 1.150, 4.117), field of study (medical school) (AOR: 3.501, 95% CI: 1.475, 8.309), being in the first and second year of study (AOR: 0.270, 95% CI: 0.133, 0.548), and having taken sexual education lessons (AOR: 3.413, 95% CI: 1.771, 6.579).
CONCLUSION: Modern contraceptive use is low (19.4%). This study found that age, field of study, year of study, taking sexual education lessons, and ever use of emergency contraception are strongly associated with the utilization of modern contraception among female undergraduate students. School health education should be emphasized.

KEYWORDS: Addis Ababa University, Contraceptives, Modern contraceptives, Utilization, Ethiopia