| dc.description.abstract | Background: Adolescence is a crucial period during which many begin sexual activity. Most
adolescents especially those aged between 15 and 19 years are sexually active yet they rarely
use contraceptives due to some negative attitudes. I examined factors influencing modern
contraceptive uptake among female adolescents (15-19) in Uganda.
Methods: The study, based on data from the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey
(UDHS), analyzed 1947 weighted cases of female adolescents (15-19). Both Chi-square tests
and binary logistic regression were used to examine the predictors of modern contraceptive use
among female adolescents in Uganda. The main explanatory variables included age, education,
occupation, religion, region, wealth index, media exposure, decision maker on contraception,
and residence.
Results: The overall prevalence of modern contraceptive use among female adolescents in
Uganda was 20%. Binary logistic regression analysis identified the following statistically
significant correlates of modern contraceptive use. Age, age at first sex and region. The odds
of using modern contraceptives were higher among female adolescents aged 18 years and above
(OR=1.568, CI=1.146-2.144) compared to adolescents aged below 18 years. Female
adolescents who had their first sex 18 years and above (OR=0.590; CI=0.366-0.952) were less
likely to use modern contraceptives compared to those who had their first sex below 18 years.
Likewise Female adolescents from northern (OR=0.575; CI=0.359-0.919) were less likely to
use modern contraceptives compared to female adolescents from central region. Decision
maker on contraception was omitted at multivariate analysis due to lack of enough analytical
sample to run at multivariate.
Conclusion: The findings of this study highlight the influence of age, age at first sex, and
region as key predictors of modern contraceptive use among female adolescents in Uganda.
The findings further show a need to promote the availability, accessibility and acceptability of
modern contraceptives among female adolescents, especially those that reside in the Northern
areas of Uganda.
Keywords: modern contraceptives, female adolescents; Uganda. | en_US |
