ABSTRACT
@#Nigeria has a population of about 180 million, estimated to double in 22 years due to low uptake of family planningservices. Low utilization of family planning is the major factor associated with high fertility pattern in Nigeria. Thistrend is higher among rural women in Northern Nigeria. Without a thorough understanding of, and due attention to thelocal context, utilization of family planning may continue to be low. Identification of correlates of family planning wouldbe invaluable in designing strategies for ultimately improving uptake of family planning services. This study becamerelevant as no previous study on family planning has been carried out in Ushafa Community. The study was conductedat Ushafa community, a rural community, located in Bwari Area Council on the northern axis of the Federal CapitalTerritory (FCT) of Nigeria. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted among women of reproductiveage (15-49 years) who were permanent resident of Ushafa Community. Using proportion of contraceptive usage of 16%from a previous study, 240 women were recruited into the study by systematic sampling technique. Data was collected bymeans of a structured interviewer administered questionnaire, data was entered and analysed using statistical packagefor social sciences (SPSS) version 20. All tests were conducted using 2 tails while level of significance was set at 0.05.About a quarter of respondents (26.3%) knew that amenorrhoea could be a side effect of oral contraceptive pills, 51.1%knew that oral contraceptive pills must be taken daily, 58% were not using any form of family planning. Age (χ2 = 8.382,p = 0.01) and marital status (χ2 = 8.915, p = 0.01) were significantly associated with family planning knowledge. Levelof education was significantly associated with current use of family planning (χ2 = 10.78, p = 0.03). Educational statuswas significantly associated with likelihood of using family planning in the future (χ2 = 8.64, p = 0.04). Although therespondents had fairly good knowledge of family planning, the study observed some misconceptions especially withrespect to side effects and methodology of use of the commodities. Low uptake of family planning was observed amongthe respondents. Age and marital status were significantly associated with family planning knowledge; level of educationwas significantly associated with current use of family planning. There is need for incorporation of facts on usage andside effects of family planning in message disseminated by health workers in health facilities in Ushafa Community so as to correct misconceptions.
