Contraceptive use among women refugees in Kyaka II Refugee Settlement, Kyenjojo District, South Western Uganda
Abstract
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of a Masters Degree in Public Health of Makerere University.
Today Uganda hosts an estimated 230,000 refugees in 12 districts. There are 16,000 refugees in Kyaka II settlement in Kyenjojo district in Western Uganda. Family Planning supplies and services for refugees in Kyenjojo district are mainly provided by the Ministry of Health. Objectives: To explore and assess the different factors influencing contraceptive use by refugee women in Kyaka II settlement in Uganda. Methods: A cross-sectional study in which 484 women of reproductive age randomly selected answered interviewer-administered questionnaires was carried out. Four key informant interviews (KII) and three focus group discussions (FGDS) for health workers, married refugee men and adolescents were conducted. A health facility checklist was used to assess the quality of family planning services provided in the settlement. Results: Most of the participants (91.9%) were aware of modern contraception. Up to 12.2% of respondents reported that they are using traditional methods of family planning. The least used of the natural methods of family planning was the Standard Days Method (1.7%). Modern Contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) was 18.2%. CPR was lowest (10.4%) in the 15-24 years age group and highest (26.0%) in the 25-34 age categories. The most commonly used contraceptive method was Depo-Provera (51.1%). Contraceptive use by participants was found to be associated with spousal consent (p<0.001), the age of a woman (p=0.01), education status (p<0.001) and the nature of income generating activity (P<0.001). Barriers to the use of contraception included lack of knowledge, misinformation, fear side effects and lack of support from male partners. The quality of family planning services provided in the settlement was perceived to be of good quality by current users. Non- availability of EC also prevented health workers from prescribing them even in situations when they are indicated. Conclusion: CPR and knowledge about EC was low despite the high perceived quality of services. The Non- availability of the EC Pill also hampered its use. CPR was affected by women’s education status, spousal approval, age, socio-economic status, the number and sex of surviving children. Lack of knowledge and misinformation about modern methods may influence the use of modern contraceptives.
Today Uganda hosts an estimated 230,000 refugees in 12 districts. There are 16,000 refugees in Kyaka II settlement in Kyenjojo district in Western Uganda. Family Planning supplies and services for refugees in Kyenjojo district are mainly provided by the Ministry of Health. Objectives: To explore and assess the different factors influencing contraceptive use by refugee women in Kyaka II settlement in Uganda. Methods: A cross-sectional study in which 484 women of reproductive age randomly selected answered interviewer-administered questionnaires was carried out. Four key informant interviews (KII) and three focus group discussions (FGDS) for health workers, married refugee men and adolescents were conducted. A health facility checklist was used to assess the quality of family planning services provided in the settlement. Results: Most of the participants (91.9%) were aware of modern contraception. Up to 12.2% of respondents reported that they are using traditional methods of family planning. The least used of the natural methods of family planning was the Standard Days Method (1.7%). Modern Contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) was 18.2%. CPR was lowest (10.4%) in the 15-24 years age group and highest (26.0%) in the 25-34 age categories. The most commonly used contraceptive method was Depo-Provera (51.1%). Contraceptive use by participants was found to be associated with spousal consent (p<0.001), the age of a woman (p=0.01), education status (p<0.001) and the nature of income generating activity (P<0.001). Barriers to the use of contraception included lack of knowledge, misinformation, fear side effects and lack of support from male partners. The quality of family planning services provided in the settlement was perceived to be of good quality by current users. Non- availability of EC also prevented health workers from prescribing them even in situations when they are indicated. Conclusion: CPR and knowledge about EC was low despite the high perceived quality of services. The Non- availability of the EC Pill also hampered its use. CPR was affected by women’s education status, spousal approval, age, socio-economic status, the number and sex of surviving children. Lack of knowledge and misinformation about modern methods may influence the use of modern contraceptives.
Keywords
Contraceptives, Refugees, Family planning