Correlates of knowledge of family planning among people living in fishing communities of Lake Victoria, Uganda

Annet Nanvubya,Juliet Mpendo,Francis Matovu,John Ndugga,Matt Price,Jed Kaweesi,Onesmus Kamacooko,Teddy Nakaweesa,Kundai Chinyenze,Rhoda K Wanyenze,Sarah Nabukalu,Geoffrey Omoding,Jean Pierre Van Geertruyden,Barbarah Kawoozo

doi:10.1186/s12889-020-09762-7

Abstract

BackgroundKnowledge of family planning (FP) is a key determinant of contraceptive use which ultimately plays a role in attainment of good health and in conduct of clinical research. People living in fishing communities (FCs) have limited access to health services including FP and are targeted for future clinical research but their knowledge of FP and its correlates are scantily known. We determined correlates of knowledge of FP among people living in FCs of L. victoria in Uganda to inform future FP education programs in FCs.MethodsWe conducted a comparative cross-sectional survey among participants aged 15–49 years from Kigungu and Nsazi. Participants were asked if they were aware of any FP method. All those who responded in the affirmative were further asked to mention what FP methods they had heard of or knew. Those who reported knowledge of at least one FP method were asked a series of questions about FP methods and their side effects. Knowledge was categorized into good or poor knowledge based on their mean total score. Poor knowledge constituted a score below the mean while good knowledge constituted a score of more than or equal to the mean total score. To further explore attitudes and perceptions of FP, ten in-depth interviews and four focus group discussions were conducted.ResultsOf the 1410 screened participants, 94.5% were aware of at least one FP method. Pills and injectable hormonal methods were the most commonly known methods. Slightly over a third (38%) had good knowledge of FP. Correlates of knowledge of FP were; being female (aOR: 1.92 95% CI: 1.39–2.67), residing in Kigungu (aOR: 4.01 95% CI: 2.77–5.81), being married (aOR: 1.59 95% CI: 1.11–2.28) and currently being in a sexual relationship (aOR: 1.75 95% CI: 1.18–2.60). Concerns about safety and effectiveness of some modern FP methods exist. Misconceptions on effects of FP like sterility, cancers and foetal abnormalities were common.ConclusionFP awareness among people living in FCs of L. Victoria in Uganda is high. However, good knowledge about specific methods tends to be low. Correlates of knowledge of FP include gender, residence, marital status and sexual engagement.

Highlights

Knowledge of family planning (FP) is a key determinant of contraceptive use which plays a role in attainment of good health and in conduct of clinical research
Qualitative data collection We explored general FP understanding, attitudes and perceptions of FP and preferred FP methods through ten in-depth interviews (IDIs) and four focus group discussions (FGDs) which were stratified by age and sex
Socio-demographic profile of participants in the survey A total of 1410 individuals participated in the study, majority (1143; 81%) of whom were from Kigungu (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Knowledge of family planning (FP) is a key determinant of contraceptive use which plays a role in attainment of good health and in conduct of clinical research. Due in part to lack of adequate knowledge of family planning (FP), some Ugandan women start bearing children at an early age and continue giving birth until late ages leading to a high fertility rate of 5.4 births per woman of reproductive age [4, 5]. This poses challenges for safe motherhood and child survival as well as other development programmes aimed at improving the quality of life of the population at large. This study provides the opportunity to know how this plan has benefited the fishing communities

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion