Factors determining contraceptive use and method choice among women aged 15-49 years in Uganda

Abstract

In Uganda, the challenges of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are associated to the continued rapid population growth. Most studies on contraceptives focus only on contraceptive use and/or prevalence It has therefore become necessary, especially with the most recent Kenya Demographic and Health Survey data to explore and understand the factors that contribute towards the choice of a contraceptive method. The study investigated factors that determine contraceptive use and method of choice among women aged 15-49 years in Uganda. Women are preferred since they are the major drivers of fertility reduction through contraceptive use hence an enabling factor for controlling the population. Data was provided by the 2011 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey. Descriptive statistics were used to study the central tendency of the data. Cross tabulations and multivariate logistic regression techniques were used to explore the relationship between the Socio, economic and demographic characteristics and the probability that a woman of reproductive age (15-49 years) uses any type of contraceptive (traditional or modern or both) taking the entire sample of all the women (8794); and that among women who use contraceptives (1894), a woman uses either condoms, injections, pill, or implants only. Results show that only 22.9 percent of the women were using any contraceptive method and 77.1 percent were not using any method. Women from Karamoja had the least uptake of contraceptives at 7 percent while Kampala had the highest at 32.1 percent. Notably, contraceptive use increases with increase in the level of education and wealth status. Condom use reduces with increase in age, and the age group, 15-19 years use it the most at 42.9 percent. A woman’s chances of using a condom reduces when she gets a partner while that of using the injection and pill will increase. Women in rural areas prefer the injection as compared to the other methods in the study. Access to media increases knowledge about contraceptives. For population programmes to have a bigger impact on fertility, policy makers and programme implementers need to understand the factors associated with contraceptive use and method choice.