Background Short birth interval is known to have a negative effect on perinatal, neonatal and child health outcomes. In Ethiopia, 29% of births are short birth intervals at less than 24 months. Even though optimum birth spacing is considered as an essential factor for the health of women and their children, to the best of the authors’ knowledge studies conducted on short birth interval are insufficient to inform policy makers. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess short birth interval and associated factors among women of child bearing age in Tigray, Ethiopia. Methods A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Tselemti district among women of child bearing age from January 28 to February 28, 2016. Systematic sampling technique was used to select participants. Data were collected through face to face interviews and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Odds ratio along with 95% CI was computed to ascertain association between the outcome and predictor variables. A p -value of < 0.05 was considered as cut off point to assess significance of associations in the multivariable analysis. Results The overall prevalence of short birth interval among women of child bearing age was 187 (23.3%). Sub-optimum breastfeeding (AOR = 7.01; 95% CI: 3.64, 13.46), non-use of contraceptive (AOR = 2.44; 95% CI: 1.55, 3.82), being Muslim (AOR = 2.02; 95% CI: 1.20, 3.40) and not having desire to had the last child (AOR = 3.63; 95% CI: 2.23, 5.91) were factors associated with short birth interval. Conclusion Even though currently coverage of family planning use has increased, this study showed that short birth interval is still a concern for Ethiopian women due to factors such as: religion, suboptimum breastfeeding, unwanted pregnancy and non-use of contraceptives. Improving the accessibility and coverage of contraceptive use and involvement of religious leaders in family planning programs are essential strategies to be considered. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12905-019-0776-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Background: Universal access to family planning could prevent nearly one third of the estimated 300,000 maternal deaths that occur every year. Forced sex, risk-taking behaviors and exposure to high-risk situations increased among refugees. Contraceptive services have lagged behind other sexual and reproductive health services in humanitarian settings. Currently, there is a dearth of information on the use of contraceptive among refugee women in many low-income settings. Methodology: A community based cross sectional study triangulated with qualitative data was employed from January 1 to February 1, 2017. Systematic and purposive sampling techniques were used for the quantitative and qualitative respectively. Data were collected through face to face interview for quantitative and guiding questions for the qualitative. Data was entered to Epi Info version 3.3.2 and transported to SPSS version 20.0 for analysis. Significance was declare at p-value of <0.05. Odds ratio along with 95% confidence interval was computed to ascertain the strength of association. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic content analysis. Result Among the 532 respondents who experienced sex, 192(36.1%) of them were using contraceptive method. Respondents who had Radio/TV (AOR=2.207, 95% CI=1.244, 3.917), lived in urban areas (AOR=2.593, 95% CI=1.513, 4.444), had discussion with partner on reproductive goal (AOR=2.817, 95% CI=1.681, 4.721) and longer duration in camp (AOR=.4.065, 95% CI=1.845, 8.956, AOR=2.200, 95% CI=1.084, 4.466) were significant factors. Limited availability of certain contraceptives, religion, misconception, side effects and community stigma was some of reported reasons for non-use of contraceptives by focus group discussion and in-depth interview participants. Conclusion Contraceptive utilization in refugees was unacceptable when compared to the global and national initiatives aspired to achieve. A lot of hindering factors to access the service were identified in this study. This situation will intensify the existed maternal and child mortality dire in developing countries particularly in refugee settings.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.