Data Sheet 1_Sources of reproductive health information and their associations with self-reported contraceptive familiarity and education needs among female college students: a cross-sectional study in China.docx

School education had the highest proportions of higher contraceptive familiarity (69.71%), education need (56.67%), and course necessity (79.71%). Compared with school education, family education (aOR = 0.744, 95% CI: 0.621–0.892), peers/friends (aOR = 0.734, 95% CI: 0.608–0.885), and radio/television (aOR = 0.733, 95% CI: 0.582–0.922) were associated with lower odds of higher familiarity. The Internet (aOR = 0.951, 95% CI: 0.811–1.114) and popular science books (aOR = 1.042, 95% CI: 0.875–1.240) did not differ significantly from school education.

However, effect sizes were modest (Cramer's V = 0.071–0.120) and Nagelkerke R² values were low (0.057–0.105), indicating limited explanatory power. The most desired topics were STI/gynecological disease prevention (74.19%), healthy sexual behavior (70.91%), and contraception (69.14%).</p>Conclusion<p>In this multi-province sample, the Internet was the leading information source, but school education was associated with the most favorable profile of contraceptive familiarity and education demand.

Given the modest effect sizes and cross-sectional design, these findings should be interpreted as associations requiring further investigation rather than as evidence for strong causal effects. Universities should strengthen structured curricula, integrate reliable digital resources, and support students relying on informal sources. Due to the cross-sectional design, causal inferences cannot be drawn.</p>