Abstract
BackgroundThe use of modern contraceptives (MC) in most African countries has been low despite the high fertility rate and unmet need for family planning. This study sought to determine the coverage and determinants of modern contraceptive use among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).MethodsData for the study were obtained from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted between 1995–2020 across 37 SSA countries. Women of reproductive age (15–49 years) was the unit of analysis. Analysis of data was done using STATA version 16 for windows. A bivariate Rao Scott’s Chi-square test of independence was done to determine factors associated with the use of modern contraceptives. Factors that showed significance (p < 0.05) were included in a multilevel logistic regression to determine significant predictors of modern contraceptives. Clustering, stratification and sample weighting were accounted for in the analyses.ResultsThe overall prevalence of the use of MC was found to be 22.0%. This ranged from 3.5% in the Central Africa Republic to 49.7% in Namibia. The most common type of MC used were injections (39.4%), condoms (17.5%) and implants (26.5%). Women were less likely to use modern contraceptive if they: had no education (aOR = 0.4, 95% CI 0.38–0.44), had no children (aOR = 0.27–0.42), not told of family planning at a health facility (aOR = 0.69, 95% CI 0.67–0.71), not heard of family planning in the media (aOR = 0.77, 95% CI 0.74–0.79) and being poor (aOR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.73–0.79). On the other hand, women were more likely to use modern contraceptive if they were between the age of 35–39 years (aOR = 1.69, 95% CI 0.73–0.79), married (aOR = 2.66, 95% CI 2.50–2.83), had seven or more children (aOR = 1.27, 95% CI 1.17–0.38), had knowledge of any method of contraceptives (aOR = 303.8, 95% CI 89.9–1027.5) and when field worker visited and talked about family planning (aOR = 1.53, 95% CI 1.39–0.68).ConclusionThe study showed a low prevalence of modern contraceptive use in sub-Saharan Africa. Findings from the study highlight the need to provide education to women to increase uptake of modern contraceptive and also re-enforce contraceptive interventions to improve women’s health and well-being.
Highlights
The use of modern contraceptives (MC) in most African countries has been low despite the high fertility rate and unmet need for family planning
Socio‐demographic characteristics of participants The final sample size of women of reproductive age (15–49 years) for the 37 sub-Saharan Africa countries included in the analyses was 494,285
Findings from this study indicate that women who had received family planning information from health workers were more likely to use MC than those who did not
Summary
The use of modern contraceptives (MC) in most African countries has been low despite the high fertility rate and unmet need for family planning. Women were more likely to use modern contraceptive if they were between the age of 35–39 years (aOR = 1.69, 95% CI 0.73–0.79), married (aOR = 2.66, 95% CI 2.50–2.83), had seven or more children (aOR = 1.27, 95% CI 1.17–0.38), had knowledge of any method of contraceptives (aOR = 303.8, 95% CI 89.9–1027.5) and when field worker visited and talked about family planning (aOR = 1.53, 95% CI 1.39–0.68). Planning (FP) has been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a voluntary and informed decision by an individual or couple on the number of children to have and when to have them [2] It is characterized by the use of contraceptives, either modern or traditional methods. Modern contraceptive (contraceptive) has been recognized as an effective method for fertility reduction, and are being widely promoted to slow rapid population growth, in developing countries [4, 5]
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