Latent and Under-explored Determinants of Contraceptive Use in Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction The Nigerian population policy targeted a 30.2% prevalence of modern contraceptives among its population by the year 2015. In spite of the widespread knowledge of contraceptive use among the population, the prevalence stood at 12% in 2018. This study, riding on several previous studies on the determinants of contraceptive use in Nigeria, investigates the latent and under-explored determinants against the background that what is known has not significantly translated to the realization of the country's population policy targets. Methods Using data on 27,274 married and in-union women aged 15-49 from the 2013 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey, the relationships between sex preference, family composition, intimate partner violence, and coital frequency and contraceptive use were analyzed using bivariate statistics and logistic regression. Results The prevalence of contraceptive use was 9.9%, and in both the unadjusted and adjusted regression models with other known sociodemographic confounders of contraceptive use, family composition, and active coital frequency predicted increased odds of utilization (P < 0.001). Preference for sons was latent and implicated in family composition and contraceptive use. Conclusions The study concludes that ethnic differences and cultural attributes of the ethnic groups which underlie issues of family composition should be given prominence in efforts at scaling up contraceptive use in Nigeria. Policy Implications With the findings from this study, population control policies in Nigeria and efforts at scaling up contraceptive utilization in particular, should be tailor-made to accommodate ethnic differences and inherent cultural attributes of the more than 380 ethnic groups in the country as this was found to underlie fertility preferences and how family composition is viewed.

Differentials in Contraceptive Use Among Selected Minority Ethnic Groups in Nigeria

“…The Ebira and Igala ethnic groups, which are known for their high fertility, have a low use of modern contraceptives. The high prevalence of modern contraception among Okun women of reproductive age, on the other hand, is consistent with their low fertility, which may be traced back to Yoruba ethnic group in Southwest Nigeria, suggesting that modern contraceptive use has a cascading effect from this majority ethnic group (14,(32)(33)(34). This is similar to earlier research that has found ethnicity to be a strong predictor of contraceptive use (15,29,30).…”

“…Studies in Nigeria on fertility and contraception have majorly focused on the three major ethnic groups and the geopolitical regions; there is sparse information on minority ethnic groups' contraceptive use (14,(31)(32)(33)(34). The 17% contraceptive use prevalence rate (CPR) and 12% CPR reported among currently married women in 2018 NDHS (35) is an aggregation of the minority ethnic groups CPRs in the country.…”

Assessing the relationship between knowledge and the actual use of contraceptives among childbearing women in South-South Nigeria: evidence from the 2018 Nigeria demographic and health survey

“…Previous research has found that childbearing women in southern Nigeria [17,18,27], North-West Nigeria [16], and Uganda [38] have comparable or even higher knowledge of contraceptives. The level of contraceptive knowledge influences increased contraception demand and adoption [18,31]. Our findings showed that, despite widespread contraceptive knowledge among childbearing women, actual contraceptive use was lacking in our study population.…”

“…The level of contraceptive knowledge influences increased contraception demand and adoption [ 18 , 31 ]. Our findings showed that, despite widespread contraceptive knowledge among childbearing women, actual contraceptive use was lacking in our study population.…”

“…However, it differs significantly from the other northern zones, North-Central (13.3%), North-East (8.4%), and North-West (5.7%) [9]. Despite the overlapping circumstances among South-South states, some previous studies on knowledge and use of contraceptives in the region [28][29][30] and the country at large [31,32] have failed to examine the relationship between contraceptive knowledge and actual use in South-South Nigeria. As a result, this study looked at the relationship between contraceptive knowledge and actual use among childbearing women in Nigeria's South-South geopolitical region.…”