Prevalence and associated factors of Unmet need for Family Planning among adolescents 15-19 years in Agago District, Northern Uganda.

Abstract

Background: An estimated 250 million adolescent girls live in developing countries, and 16 million adolescents aged 15–19 years give birth each year. Unmet need for family planning contraceptives in Uganda is at 34.3% and unintended pregnancy is common, leading to high levels of unplanned births, unsafe abortions, maternal injury, and death. Reducing unmet need for contraceptives would prevent around 30% of maternal deaths, reduce child mortality by 20%, and avert over one million abortions in Uganda. Objective: The main objective of the study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with unmet need for contraceptives among adolescents aged 15-19years in Agago district, Northern Uganda. Methods: This was a cross sectional study that was conducted among 770 participants between December 1 and December 22, 2020 in Agago district, Northern Uganda. Both quantitative (Questionnaire) and qualitative (Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and in-depths interviews (IDIs) study methods were used to collect detailed views of research participants in response to the research questions. A total of six FGDs, each containing ten (10) adolescents were conducted in each selected village and 22 IDIs were conducted. Quantitative data was collected on prevalence of unmet need as well as associated factors with unmet need for family planning among adolescents. Results: The proportion of unmet need for family planning was 33.8% (95% CI, 32.5-35.2). Unmet need for family planning was less among individuals who never had a child (AOR, 4.042; 95% CI, 1.907-8.564; P<0.001) and being married (AOR, 6.658; 95% CI, 1.300 – 34.099; P=0.023) compared to single individuals while unmet need for family planning was less among teachers (AOR, 0.056; 95% CI, 0.008 – 0.392; P=0.004). Conclusion: The proportion of unmet need for family planning among adolescents was high at 33.8%. The participants perceived family planning use to to be associated with fertility desires, loss of libido, domestic violence. With the high level of unmet need, a lot must be done to ensure increased access and utilization of contraceptives, such as providing adolescent friendly services, promoting availability and accessibility in order to meet the SDG of the country by 2030.