Are modern contraceptives acceptable to people and where do they source them from across Nigeria?

Abstract

BackgroundUnderstanding the extent that different modern contraceptives are acceptable to different populations groups and where they get the commodities from will help in developing specific interventions that will help to scale-up the availability of the contraceptives.MethodsThe study took place in urban and rural sites in six states across Nigeria. Data on acceptability and sources of the contraceptives was collected from at least 770 randomly selected mostly female householders from each state respectively using a questionnaire. Acceptability of the different contraceptives was scored by the respondents on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest). The relationships between acceptability and sources of the contraceptives with socio-economic status and geographic location of the respondents were examined.ResultsThe use of modern contraceptives in general was acceptable to 87% of the respondents. Male condom was the most acceptable means of contraceptive with an average score of 5.0. It was followed by implants with and oral contraceptive pill with average scores of 4.0, whilst IUD was the least acceptable with an average score of 2.9. The private sector was the major source of contraceptives to different population groups. Both male and female condoms were mostly procured from patent medicine dealers (PMD) and pharmacy shops. Intra Uterine Devices (IUDs) and implants were mostly sourced from public and private hospitals in the urban areas, whilst injectibles were mostly sourced from private hospitals. Oral contraceptives were mostly sourced from pharmacy shops and patent medicine dealers. There were SES and geographic differences for both acceptability and sources of the contraceptives. Also, the sources of different contraceptives depended on the type of the contraceptive.ConclusionThe different contraceptives were acceptable to the respondents and the major source of the contraceptives was the private sector. Hence, public-private partnership arrangements should be explored so that universal coverage with contraceptives could be easily achieved. Interventions should be developed to eliminate the inequities in both acceptability and sources of different contraceptives. The acceptability of all the contraceptives should be enhanced with relevant behaviour change communication interventions especially in areas with the lowest levels of acceptability.

The influence of socioeconomic status on women's preferences for modern contraceptive providers in Nigeria: a multilevel choice modeling

“…This finding was in consonance with what has been previously reported in low and middle income countries 38–40. Education is an individual measure of socioeconomic status and has long been recognized as a knowledgeable personal asset which enhances individuals’ propensity to acquire an understanding of what is needed for good health 41,42.…”

“…Therefore, the finding observed in this study that women residing in rural areas had a higher likelihood of preferring private providers is not unexpected and has been documented in previous studies 38,43. On the other hand, there is a lesser likelihood that women living in rural areas prefer public providers.…”

Role of community resource persons in improving use of modern family planning methods among women of reproductive age in a rural area in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

“…Factors such as traditional beliefs that favor high fertility, religious barriers, and lack of male involvement have also affected family planning interventions negatively, and this has contributed to high fertility rate in many countries . In Nigeria, the government has a health sector target of meeting the unmet need for family planning in the country and keeping the population growth within acceptable limits . In collaboration with its partners, the Nigerian government has pledged to achieve a modern contraceptive rate of 36% among all women by 2020…”

Wealth index, empowerment and modern contraceptive use among married women in Nigeria: are they interrelated?

“…Such gains include the prevention of health, social and psychological cost effect of unwanted pregnancies (Kavanaugh and Anderson 2013); therefore, the low modern contraceptive prevalence rate in Nigeria raises a concern despite the ongoing programmes and campaigns for family planning across the country. The anxiety prompted researchers' interest in exploring the reasons for low use of modern contraceptives in Nigeria (Monjok et al 2010;Ezechi et al 2013;Onwujekwe et al 2013); however, studies that have addressed the influence of the interaction between the wealth index and level of women's empowerment, as evidenced in the current study, are scarce in Nigeria. The mean age 32.9(σ = 8.0) estimated for women in this study is expected since they are married and they cover the spectrum of childbearing years (15-49 years).…”