ABSTRACT
Background: In Sub-Saharan Africa, unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and low use of modern contraceptives are major reproductive health problems affecting women of reproductive age. However, there is evidence of an increase in contraceptive use over the past decade. This study was carried out to assess the pattern of contraceptive use, and its association with quality of life among women of reproductive age, attending a general outpatient clinic, at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Nigeria.Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted with 323 women aged 15-49 years for three months. Data were retrieved using a semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.Results: The mean age of the participants was 34.9±8 years. The prevalence of contraceptive use was 43.7%, and out which, 34.4% accounted for modern methods. At least 72.4% ever heard about a method of contraceptive. Male condom was the most heard (96.6%) and most used (39.0%) contraceptive method. Majority of the quality of life parameters had higher mean scores, with significant mean values in vitality and social functioning categories among contraceptive users (72.41±14.82 and 72.07±18.39 respectively, p=0.029) compared with non-contraceptive users.Conclusions: Despite a higher mean quality of life scores among contraceptive users, less than half of the respondents made use of contraceptives. Therefore, the need for more orientation on the use of contraceptives to promote safe sexual practice and birth control is required.
ABSTRACT
Background: Family planning programs are implemented specifically to address the sexual and reproductive health challenges of women of childbearing age but these interventions are yet to address regional differences in modern contraceptive usage in Nigeria. Hence, this study aimed to examine correlates of modern contraceptive uptake in South West and North Eastern, Nigeria.Methods: A cross-sectional survey data for women aged 15-49 years was extracted from Nigeria demographic and health surveys 2018 (NDHS). Data analyses were based on a weighted sample of 10,907 (North East= 5406 and South West = 5501) women of reproductive age. The outcome variable was modern contraceptive use. The main explanatory variables were age, employment status, religion, Number of living children, education, and marital status. Frequency distribution, Chi-square test, and binary logistic regression were used for data analysis (α=0.05).Results: The result showed the mean age of women of reproductive age in South West and North East to be 32years and 30 years respectively. More women in South West used modern contraceptive than women in North East. About 91.5% and 75.8% of women in North East and South West respectively did not used any modern method. The result showed that, in the South West, number of living children (OR:4.06, CI: 2.794-5.921), education (OR:1.35, CI: 1.045-1.754) and wealth index (OR:1.77, CI: 1.053-2.973) increased the odds of contraceptive uptake, while maternal age (OR:0.52, CI: 0.282-0.965), religion (OR:0.25, CI: 0.184-0.347) and place of residence (OR:0.68, CI: 0.504-0.916) significantly reduced the odds of modern contraceptive uptake in North East.Conclusions: This study concludes that there are regional variations in uptake and predictors of modern contraceptives use in Nigeria. Therefore, sexual and reproductive health interventions that considers the study’s significant variables should be put in place to increase uptake.