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Determinants of family planning service uptake and use of contraceptives among postpartum women in rural Uganda

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Public Health

Abstract

Objective

Uganda has one of the highest unmet needs for family planning globally, which is associated with negative health outcomes for women and population-level public health implications. The present cross-sectional study identified factors influencing family planning service uptake and contraceptive use among postpartum women in rural Uganda.

Methods

Participants were 258 women who attended antenatal care at a rural Ugandan hospital. We used logistic regression models in SPSS to identify determinants of family planning service uptake and contraceptive use postpartum.

Results

Statistically significant predictors of uptake of family planning services included: education (AOR = 3.03, 95 % CI 1.57–5.83), prior use of contraceptives (AOR = 7.15, 95 % CI 1.58–32.37), partner communication about contraceptives (AOR = 1.80, 95 % CI 1.36–2.37), and perceived need of contraceptives (AOR = 2.57, 95 % CI 1.09–6.08). Statistically significant predictors of contraceptive use since delivery included: education (AOR = 2.04, 95 % CI 1.05–3.95), prior use of contraceptives (AOR = 10.79, 95 % CI 1.40–83.06), and partner communication about contraceptives (AOR = 1.81, 95 % CI 1.34–2.44).

Conclusions

Education, partner communication, and perceived need of family planning are key determinants of postpartum family planning service uptake and contraceptive use, and should be considered in antenatal and postnatal family planning counseling.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Harriet Nantaba, Hajara Kagulire, and Farouk Kimbowa for their assistance with data collection, the midwives at Gombe Hospital, and Stephen Schensul and Howard Tennen for comments on an earlier version of this paper. The study was funded by an Innovations in Women’s Health Research Seed Grant from Brown University/Women & Infants Hospital National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health (PI: Kiene). This paper is a product of KMS’s MPH thesis at the University of Connecticut Health Center.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Medicine and Health Care, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA

    Katelyn M. Sileo & Susan M. Kiene

  2. Makerere University School of Public Health, Kampala, Uganda

    Rhoda K. Wanyenze

  3. Gombe Hospital, Gombe, Uganda

    Haruna Lule

  4. Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Susan M. Kiene

  5. Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive (MC-4162), San Diego, CA, 92182, USA

    Susan M. Kiene

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  1. Katelyn M. Sileo
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  2. Rhoda K. Wanyenze
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  4. Susan M. Kiene
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Correspondence to Susan M. Kiene.

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Sileo, K.M., Wanyenze, R.K., Lule, H. et al. Determinants of family planning service uptake and use of contraceptives among postpartum women in rural Uganda. Int J Public Health 60, 987–997 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-015-0683-x

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