Contraceptive use and associated factors among sexually active female adolescents in Atwima Kwanwoma District, Ashanti region-Ghana

Abstract

Introduction Unintended pregnancies and adolescent childbearing are on the increase in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Ghana, 14% of adolescents aged 15-19 are already mothers or pregnant with their first child. Most of these pregnancies are associated with poor outcomes such as miscarriages, stillbirths, unsafe abortions and other complications that might result in infant or mortality. In addition, sexually-active adolescents (16-19 years) are at higher risk of contracting STIs. Evidence suggest that contraceptive use help reduce fertility rate and adolescent reproductive health. This study therefore sought to understand the magnitude and associated factors that influence female adolescents' use of contraceptive in the Atwima Kwanwoma District, Ghana. Methods A descriptive and analytic cross-sectional study design was used for this study. Using a structured questionnaire, data were collected from randomly sampled 200 sexually active female adolescents; aged 16-19 for a three month period; June to September 2017. The questionnaire elicited data on the socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, their knowledge and perception, use of contraceptives and factors influencing their contraceptive use. Data were analyzed using STATA version 12.1 software. Results Ninety-five percent of the respondents exhibited some knowledge about contraceptives, but this high knowledge did not translate into its use as the prevalence rate was 18%. Condom was the most widely used contraceptive (33%) and perceived side effects of contraceptives was found to be the main reason for not using the contraceptives (53.66%). Marital status and the participants who were staying with both parents were found to be associated with contraceptive use with their p-values of 0.023 and 0.002 respectively. Conclusion Considering the fact that contraceptive knowledge does not necessarily translate into use, further studies (qualitative), are needed to understand why high knowledge levels are not associated with high usage patterns.

Determinants of Contraceptive Use among Female Adolescents in the Nabdam District of Upper East Region, Ghana

“…This finding is supported by other previous studies in Ghana where at least 90% of the participants had heard of contraceptives. 17,18 However, this finding differs from those found in India where only 51% of school going adolescent girls had heard of contraceptives. 19 The reason for this disparity could be attributed to religious and cultural differences contributing to such knowledge awareness gap.…”

“…However, only 45.1% of them knew at least three methods of contraception. Agyemang et al 18 reported similar findings where about 89% of the participants knew at least one method and only 25% and 31% respectively could mention other methods such pills and injectable. Most of the participants (58.1%) got information regarding contraceptives from friends, health facilities (52%), family members (24.7%) and media (23.7%).…”

“…In this study, 38.3% of the participants had ever used contraceptives and of this number, 75.4% were currently using contraceptive methods while 24.6% were not using any methods. Agyemang et al 18 in Ghana reported 67% contraceptive use among adolescents while Tejineh et al 20 in Ethiopia also reported 61%. While the two previous studies were conducted in urban areas where there are generally an enlighten population, the current study was conducted in rural area.…”

Trends in Male Contraceptive Use in Ghana: An Analysis of Self-Reported Contraceptive Use from GDHS 2003, 2008 & 2014

“…In Ghana, existing published studies on contraceptive use/family planning have disproportionately focused on women [18,19] and female adolescents [20,21] with much less attention to men, leading a dearth of evidence on male contraceptive use.…”

Prevalence and predictors of contraceptives use among women age (15-49) with induced abortion history in Ghana

“…The use of modern contraceptives and its associated factors among women age (15-49) have been documented in Ghana (Agyemang, Newton, Nkrumah, Tsoka-Gwegweni, & Cumber, 2019;Aviisah et al, 2018;Geelhoed et al, 2002;Grindlay et al, 2018;Kebede, Abaya, Merdassa, & Bekuma, 2019;Nonvignon & Novignon, 2014;Nyarko, 2020). However, utilization of modern contraceptives specifically among women with induced abortion history is underreported despite their vulnerability.…”