Contraception: School Knowledge and Practical Attitudes in the Urban Commune of Segou, Mali

The aim was to describe aspects of students’ knowledge of sexuality and contraception and their sexual behaviour in schools in Segou, Mali. Materials and Methods: This was a one-pass cross-sectional survey with reasoned choice at the first level and random choice at the second level over a 3-month period from January 2013 to March 2013. Results: The majority of the students involved in our study reside in the commune of Segou, 90.4%. The average age of our students was 18. The female sex was the most represented in our study with 59.7%. The majority of students had casual sex at 60.3% and 70.9% irregularly. The change of sexual partner affected 47.9% of schoolchildren. Of our sexually active students, 72.6% had sexual partners and 37.4% had more than 2 partners. The main sources of information are respectively the media with 72.1% followed by teachers with 12.9% and friends with 09.7%. Among the most well-known contraceptive methods, condoms rank first with 72.6%, followed by injectable with 72.0%. 70.6% of the population had not yet used a contraceptive method at first sexual intercourse and in 72.9% of cases was condoms. The most cited source of contraceptive supply is pharmacy with 49.5% followed by family planning centres and maternity wards at 16.2% and shops at 16.2%. Conclusion: The referral of young people to approved health facilities for contraception could prevent them from risky sexual behaviours.