Factors influencing utilization of antenatal care services among teenagers in Uganda: Using UDHS 2016 Data
Abstract
The main objective of this study is to assess the factors influencing utilization of antenatal care services among teenage mothers in Uganda. The specific objectives were finding out the effect of region, religion, relationship to household head, time since last sex and exposure on utilization status teenagers. Strictly secondary data was utilized in this study. Secondary data on antenatal care visits for this was obtained from the 2016 Uganda Demographic Healthy Survey (UDHS) data which was collected from June 15 through December 18 2016. The data on teenagers was obtained after applying a filter. Therefore, 997 teenagers were liable for data analysis. Data analysis involved the descriptive statistics such as percentages, frequency distribution tables, histograms and charts. Inferential statistics involved the Pearson Chi-square statistics and the binary logistic regression model. Results showed that the Acholi teenagers' chances of increasing their use of antenatal services are expected to drop by a factor of about .928 times compared to those in other regions. When comparing fecund, pregnant, infecund, or menopausal teenagers to postpartum amenorrheic teenagers, ANC services were anticipated to expand by a factor of 2.45 times. With an extra month since the last sex activity, ANC services were also projected to expand by a factor of roughly 1.0 times. However, when compared to youth of other religions, the likelihood of using ANC services was lower for those belonging to the Catholic dominion. Findings indicated that youth in households lacking biological ties are more vulnerable to unplanned pregnancies and, as a result, are more likely to seek ANC services than those in households with a clear biological attachment to the household head.