Analysis on the uptake of long-term family planning methods among women aged 18-49 years in the northern region: Case study of Gulu town

Abstract

In Uganda, the uptake of Long-acting reversible contraception is suboptimal in women in the general population, which trend could be more pronounced among young women. The prevalence of family planning is still low (55%) when compared to the estimates in the developed countries. This study is to examine the factors associated with the uptake of longterm family planning among women aged 18-49 years in St. Mary’s hospital Lacor. It was a cross-sectional descriptive study that employed quantitative method. Quantitative method included use of predesigned structured questionnaires. The sample size consisted of 100 respondents who attend St. Mary’s hospital Lacor. The analysis was done using frequency distribution and multiple logistic regression. The results indicated that majority of the women use long-term family planning services (64.0%). 16% were in the range of 40-49 years old (p=0.020), 40% attained secondary education (p=0.002) and 20% attained primary education (p=0.004) and 13% received information about family planning from women groups (p=0.032). Although most women were aware of family planning methods in St Mary’s Hospital Lacor, the uptake of the service was low. Thus, there is the need for the office of the district health directorate to intensify health education on the benefits of family planning with male involvement. The government should also scale up family planning services in the district to make it more accessible, through media.