Abstract
Kenya is among the leading nations in family planning in Africa, having the first official nationwide family planning program in sub-Saharan Africa. However, Kenya is still one of the most highly populated countries in Africa with a population of more than 52 million. The objective of this study was to assess the trends and contributing factors of contraceptive use. We conducted a multi-wave cross-sectional study using both the demographic health survey (DHS) and family planning effort index (FPE) datasets, analyzing five-year waves from 1989 to 2014. This study indicates that contraceptive use increased from 24.0% to 42.6%, with a change % of 77.5%. Despite changes in women’s characteristics, these characteristics posed little on the time trend of contraceptive use in Kenya. In addition, the policy component of FPE scores had a positive association with contraceptive use with negligible change after adjusting for social and demographic factors 1.055 (1.046–1.065). There was a fluctuating trend of the additional FPE components throughout the years. Women with lower education, those married to husbands with lower education, unmarried, and rural women remain behind in family planning service utilization. Targeted programs are still needed for these special groups. Policy adherence is vital for continued progress.
Highlights
Contraceptive use benefits sexually active individuals to realize their fundamental right to choose freely and responsibly if, when, and how many children to have [1]
These results provide the opportunity for a long-term analysis of contraceptive time trends in a developing country, based on the indicator, which is strictly aligned with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) to guarantee universal access to family planning and education [30]
This study has offered us an opportunity to examine the trend of contraceptive use in Kenya since 1989
Summary
Contraceptive use benefits sexually active individuals to realize their fundamental right to choose freely and responsibly if, when, and how many children to have [1]. Most countries including developing countries have had national programs to provide family planning to large populations since the mid-1960s [2]. Advocates for family planning programs regularly highlighted their association with the economy, unlike today, where debates revolve around women’s reproductive health and rights [3]. Women experience a heavy burden on their physical and mental health due to unwanted pregnancies; there is a need to focus on their reproductive health [4]. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 7065; doi:10.3390/ijerph17197065 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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