ABSTRACT
A cross-sectional study to determine modern contraceptives utilization among women aged between 15 and 19 years was performed between September and October; 1991 in 5 countries of East Central and Southern Africa. The study involved both rural and urban area of Kenya; Uganda; Mauritius; Swaziland and Zambia. A total of 4513 women were interviewed of whom 2418 (53.6) were from the urban areas while 2096 (46.4were from the rural areas. The percentage distribution of contraceptive users was 33.2in urban and 48.9in rural areas. The proportion of users of traditional/natural contraception was 38.5. Overall the prevalence of contraceptive use was 29.5. Thus the natural/traditional methods were most popular in the region. The user rate of modern contraceptive methods ranged from 6.8for Zambia to 60for Mauritius. The study revealed that contraceptive prevalence rates were higher among women in urban areas (60) than in rural areas (40). The main factors influencing contraceptive use in order of importance included distance from residence to clinics; level of education attained; parity; marital status; approval by husbands/boyfriends and knowledge of family planning methods. Contraceptive use was highest in the age group of 20 to 34 years while it was lowest among young women aged 15-19 years