ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: High fertility and low contraceptive prevalence characterize Southern Nations; Nationalities and Peoples Region. In such populations; unmet needs for contraception have a tendency to be high; mainly due to the effect of socio-economic and demographic variables. However; there has not been any study examining the relationship between these variables and unmet need in the region. This study; therefore; identifies the key socio- demographic determinants of unmet need for family planning in the region. METHODS: The study used data from the 2000 and 2005 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys. A total of 2;133 currently married women age 15-49 from the 2000 survey and 1;988 from the 2005 survey were included in the study. Unmet need for spacing; unmet need for limiting and total unmet need were used as dependent variables. Socio- demographic variables (respondent's age; age at marriage; number of living children; sex composition of living children; child mortality experience; place of residence; respondent's and partner's education; religion and work status) were treated as explanatory variables and their relative importance was examined on each of the dependent variables using multinomial and binary logistic regression models. RESULTS: Unmet need for contraception increased from 35.1in 2000 to 37.4in 2005. Unmet need for spacing remained constant at about 25; while unmet need for limiting increased by 20between 2000 and 2005. Age; age at marriage; number of living children; place of residence; respondent's education; knowledge of family planning; respondent's work status; being visited by a family planning worker and survey year emerged as significant factors affecting unmet need. On the other hand; number of living children; education; age and age at marriage were the only explanatory variables affecting unmet need for limiting. Number of living children; place of residence; age and age at marriage were also identified as factors affecting total unmet need for contraception. CONCLUSION: unmet need for spacing is more prevalent than unmet need for limiting. Women with unmet need for both spacing and limiting are more likely to be living in rural areas; have lower level of education; lower level of knowledge about family planning methods; have no work other than household chores; and have never been visited by a family planning worker. In order to address unmet need for family planning in the region; policy should set mechanisms to enforce the law on minimum age for marriage; improve child survival and increase educational access to females. In addition; the policy should promote awareness creation about family planning in rural areas