Determinants of unmet need for family planning among women in Urban Cameroon: a cross sectional survey in the Biyem-Assi Health District, Yaoundé

Abstract

BackgroundWith the unacceptably high level of unmet need for family planning in Sub-Saharan Africa, reducing unmet need is paramount in the fight against the high levels of induced abortions, maternal and neonatal morbi-mortality. A clear understanding of the determinants of unmet need for family planning is indispensable in this light. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of unmet need for family planning in Urban Cameroon while identifying major determinants of unmet need among women in a union in Urban Cameroon.MethodsA community based cross sectional study was conducted from March 2015 to April 2015 during which 370 women in a union were recruited using cluster multistep sampling in the Biyem-Assi Health District, Yaounde. Data were collected using a pretested and validated questionnaire. Proportions and their 95 % confidence intervals were calculated with the Westoff/DHS method used to estimate unmet need for family planning and the odds ratio used as measure of association with statistical significant threshold set at p-value ≤ 0.05.ResultsOf the 370 eligible women included, the mean age was 29.9 ± 6.8 years, and 61.1 % were married. The prevalence of unmet need for family planning was 20.4 (16.4-24.8)% with 14.2 (11.2-18.7)% having an unmet need for spacing and 6.2 (3.6-8.7)% an unmet need for limiting. Husband’s approval of contraception had a statistically significant protective association with unmet need (AOR = 0.52 [0.30-0.92], p = 0.023), and discussion about family planning within the couple had a highly statistically significant protective association with unmet need (AOR = 0.39 [0.21-0.69], p = 0.001). The major reason for non-use of contraception among women with unmet need was the fear of side effects.ConclusionThe prevalence of unmet need of family planning among women in the Biyem-Assi Health District remains high. Husband’s approval of contraception and couples’ discussion about family planning are two major factors to be considered when planning interventions to reduce unmet need for family planning. Family planning activities focused on couples or including men could be useful in reducing the rate of unmet need in Cameroon.

Design and initial implementation of the WHO FP umbrella project- to strengthen contraceptive services in the sub Saharan Africa

“…About 225 million women in low and middleincome countries have an unmet need for a modern method of family planning with the highest unmet need being in Sub-Saharan Africa [1][2][3]. Discounting the partial protection from lactational amenorrhea, unmet need for family planning is particularly high among postpartum women [4] resulting in high levels of unintended pregnancies (estimated 73 million in 2012 [5]) especially in low and middle income countries.…”

Family planning KAP survey in the Southern Region of Saudi Arabia

“…[39][40][41] Women who planned pregnancy were also found in the present study to have positive attitude toward the use of family planning, which was also discussed in several unmet family planning needs studies. 42 The present study showed that about 34% of women did not plan their current pregnancy, 28% want to postpone this pregnancy for one to three years, while the rest welling to limit their number of children. According to the definition of unmet family planning need; this is considered unplanned pregnancy of the current or last pregnancy.…”

“…According to the definition of unmet family planning need; this is considered unplanned pregnancy of the current or last pregnancy. 42 Fear of side effect was found to be one of the major women's concerns for none use of contraceptives in several studies as an important reason to stop using contraceptives. [42][43][44][45][46] In this study, women fear from side effects might be related to misinformation because the main source of information they get is not from the health care provider.…”

“…42 Fear of side effect was found to be one of the major women's concerns for none use of contraceptives in several studies as an important reason to stop using contraceptives. [42][43][44][45][46] In this study, women fear from side effects might be related to misinformation because the main source of information they get is not from the health care provider. Additionally, women tend to be spectacle from asking the health care provider regarding family planning methods and prefer to ask their friends and they depend on their husbands for choosing the appropriate method.…”

“…This was found in one report measuring unmet needs from the DHS studies among eight countries from different developing countries and recently by Ajong and the others. 42,44 Factors that were associated in this study with unmet needs were marriage years, women's age and total number of children. Women's age was found to be an associated factor for unmet family planning need by Brady and the others in 2009 report.…”