Determinants of modern contraceptive use in Eastern Uganda: difference between young and older women. a comparative analysis

Abstract

Background: Contraceptive use and family planning are integral component of reproductive health initiative and categorized into modern and traditional contraceptive methods which can help reduce maternal and child mortality and unintended pregnancies which remains a challenge as many of these pregnancies are not planned for at the time of their conception. The extent to which the young women remain victims of these pregnancies in eastern region of Uganda remains high and in certain instances it is not well known. This raises a need to explore the determinants of modern contraceptive use in Eastern region of Uganda. Therefore, the aim was to explore determinants of modern contraceptive use in eastern Uganda a difference between young and older women. Methodology: The study used secondary data from 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey women data file. It considered a total of 4879 weighted women of reproductive age of 15-49 years. The outcome variable was current use by method type and other independent. Variables were place of residence, age, education level, religion, wealth index and marital status. Results: The results from the study showed that there is a relationship between the background factors like marital status, place of residence, age and modern contraceptive use as the P-values are less than 0.05 which means that socio-economic factors influence modern contraceptive use in eastern Uganda, Notably, education level, religious affiliation and wealth index had no significant relationship with the findings in eastern region of Uganda Conclusion: The findings from the study showed that marital status, place of residence, and age of respondents remained strong factors in determining modern contraceptive use in eastern region of Uganda. The findings from the study showed that all the factors remain strong in determining modern contraceptive use in eastern region of Uganda. The study therefore concluded that the contraceptive prevalence remained lowest among young sexually active women below age 25 years and older women of age 45 years and above some of whom are no longer fecund than those at the immediate age in Uganda and is significantly attributed to a number of background factors. Recommendations: The findings from the study should be availed to the Government of Uganda through Ministry of Health and other stakeholders in reproductive health in an effort to increase on modern contraceptive prevalence by expanding on health infrastructure, and prioritize FP.