Knowledge and Utilization of Family Planning Services among Women of Reproductive Age in Ilishan Community Health Center, Ogun State

Abstract

Nearly one in ten women of reproductive age worldwide has an unmet need for family planning. Although contraceptive usage has increased globally, sub-Saharan Africa has recorded the lowest usage of contraceptives worldwide, with Nigeria, the country with the highest population in Africa still recording a low prevalence of contraceptive usage. This descriptive survey assessed the knowledge and utilization of family planning services among 85 women attending a comprehensive health centre in Ogun State. Data analysis was done with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 and hypotheses were tested using chi-square. Findings revealed the level of knowledge on family planning was above average as 55.8% demonstrated good knowledge; however, utilization of family planning services was below average as 55.8% showed inadequate utilization. While significant association was found between the utilization of family planning and the number of children per household, (χ2=8. 649, p = 0.034), no significant association was found between knowledge of the respondents and their utilization of family planning services (χ2=0.828, p = 0.730), and also between knowledge of the respondents and their educational level (χ2=4.303, p = 0.116). Although the level of knowledge in this study was above average, there is still room for improvement even as the knowledge did not translate into adequate utilization of family planning services. This calls for more advocacy and interventions to combat this trend. This will hopefully improve contraceptive prevalence while aligning Nigeria with the Sustainable Development Goal of providing universal access to reproductive health services by 2030.