Background: Although long-acting contraceptive methods are highly effective, safe, and provide uninterrupted protection from unintended pregnancy compared to short-acting methods, evidences suggest that majority of women were relayed on short-acting contraceptive methods. Thus, this study aimed to determine the level of long-acting contraceptive methods utilization and associated factors among married women in Farta Woreda, Northwest Ethiopia, 2021.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study supplemented with qualitative data was performed among 556 married women from March 1 to 31, 2021. A semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and interview guides were used to collect the data. The data were entered into Epi data version 4.6 and analyzed by SPSS version 23 software. The association between variables was analyzed using bivariate and multivariable binary logistic regression. The level of statistically significant association was determined at a P-value < 0.05. After translation and transcription, manual thematic analysis was applied to the qualitative data.
Results: The magnitude of long-acting contraceptive methods among married women in Farta Woreda was found to be 14.3% [95% CI 11.5-17.6]. Previous use of long-acting contraceptive methods (AOR = 5.83, 95% CI 3.03, 11.21), positive attitude towards long-acting contraceptives (AOR = 2.74, 95% CI 1.48, 5.07), having formal education for husbands' (AOR = 3.05, 95% CI 1.5, 6.21), and poor wealth index (AOR = 3.39, 95% CI 1.33, 8.67) were positively associated with utilization of long-acting contraceptive methods. Moreover, fear of side effects, misconceptions, and partner opposition were the most commonly identified barriers by the qualitative data.
Conclusion: Utilization of long-acting contraceptives among married women in Farta Woreda was low as compared to the 2020/21 national reproductive health strategy plan to increase the long-acting reversible and permanent contraceptive methods use to 50%. Previous use of long-acting contraceptives, positive attitude towards long-acting contraceptives, husband education, and household wealth index was found to be significantly associated with long-acting contraceptive utilization. Hence, it is better to work more on changing women's attitudes and increasing husband education.
Keywords: Contraceptive; Farta district; Long-acting; Married women.
Long-acting contraceptive methods (LACM) are methods used to prevent pregnancy for a longer period than short-acting methods. LACM are classified in two categories, reversible and non-reversible (permanent).This study use a community-based quantitative cross-sectional study supplemented with qualitative data among married women from March 1 to 31, 2021 in Farta Woreda northwest Ethiopia. The association between variables was analyzed using bivariate and multivariable binary logistic regression. Statistically significant association was declared at a P-value < 0.05. For the qualitative data, a thematic analysis was made manually.The current study found that the magnitude of long-acting contraceptive methods among married women in Farta Woreda was 14.3% 95% CI [11.5–17.6]. Women’s husband education, wealth index, previous use LACM, and attitude were significantly associated with long-acting contraceptive utilization. Besides, fear of side effects and partner opposition were the most common barriers of LACM.This study report that utilization of long-acting contraceptives among married women in Farta Woreda was significantly low as compared to the national reproductive health strategy 2020/21 plan. Therefore, establishing strategies and polices to change women’s attitudes and increasing husband education will be essential when designing implementation plans to scale up uptake of LACM.
© 2022. The Author(s).