Abstract
BackgroundEmpowering women to have a full control over the size of their family is not only an issue of human rights but also a sustainable development goal. This study sought to determine the factors influencing the use of contraception amongst female patients aged 18–49 years attending Odi District Hospital, Tshwane district.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was carried out from September 2018 to February 2019 at Odi District Hospital. A representative sample size of 400 female patients was recruited by systematic random sampling. Logistic regression model was used to determine the most influential predictors.ResultsThe mean age in the studied population was 30.65 (±7.57) years. Contraceptive prevalence was estimated to be 55.3%. Dual protection (condom) was used as additional method by up to 72.3% of respondents. Injectables remained the most used contraceptive method, while more permanent methods, such as Bilateral Tubal Ligation (BTL), were less utilised. The source of family planning information, past exposure to contraceptive methods and woman’s number of living children (parity) determined the use of contraception amongst Odi district females.ConclusionThis study revealed a discrepancy within the maternal health delivery system regarding the supply and demand chain prompting the need for more insights. The results suggest evidence-based reengineering programme that incorporates contraceptive uptake determinants into the maternal health delivery system.
Highlights
Empowering women to have a full control over the size of their family is an issue of human rights and a sustainable development goal
Being an ideal contraceptive method according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the only method that could be used concomitantly with other methods, barrier method in this study was analysed as an additional method to other methods
This trend was within the WHO global estimates (36% – 64%) and relatively similar to the 2017 South African statistics (58.3%) and the pattern observed during the national household survey on contraception coverage amongst women in South Africa (49.1%).[11,17,18]
Summary
Empowering women to have a full control over the size of their family is an issue of human rights and a sustainable development goal. The use of contraceptives is globally considered to be crucial towards fertility control.[1,2] A high fertility rate, and high population growth, has been associated with an increased level of poverty and decreased life expectancy.[1,2,3]. The report released in 2015 by the United Nations confirmed that a reduction in total fertility rate from 4.7 births in the early 1970s to 2.6 births in women aged between 15 and 49 years was associated with a significant rise in worldwide use of contraceptives from 36% to 64%.5. In sub-Saharan Africa, the fertility rate remains higher, the contraceptive use is substantially lower than anywhere else in developing countries.[5,6,7] Women’s age, marital status, previous exposure to family planning, family planning information sources, geographical location, sexual behaviours, number of living children, culture, etc. In sub-Saharan Africa, the fertility rate remains higher, the contraceptive use is substantially lower than anywhere else in developing countries.[5,6,7] Women’s age, marital status, previous exposure to family planning, family planning information sources, geographical location, sexual behaviours, number of living children, culture, etc. have been presumed to be the determinants of contraception use.[6,8,9,10]
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Schedule a callMore From: South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care
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