Access to Information on Family Planning and Use of Modern Contraceptives Among Married Igbo Women in Southeast, Nigeria

Int Q Community Health Educ. 2019 Jul;39(4):233-243. doi: 10.1177/0272684X18821300. Epub 2019 Jan 2.

Abstract

This study was conducted among married Igbo women in Nigeria who have the lowest median birth interval coupled with a culture of sex preference and low use of modern contraceptives. We examined the relationship between access to information on family planning and sex preference on the use of modern contraceptive (MC). The 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey data were used. The data of 1,661 women of reproductive age were analyzed in this study. Access to information on family planning was low, and almost half (48.6%) of the women had a score of zero. Controlling for possible confounding variables, the data show that women who have good (odds ratio [ OR]= 3.92; CI [2.28, 6.75], p < .001) and poor ( OR = 2.56; CI [1.85, 3.56], p < .001) access to information on family planning were more likely to use MC than those with no access to information on family planning. Sex preference showed no relationship with the use of MC. Families where husbands want more children than their wives inhibit ( OR = 0.62, CI [0.42, 0.90], p < .05) the use of MC compared with those families where husbands and wives fertility desire is the same. Public health programs by government and donors should intensify interventions to increase access to family planning information to promote the use of MC among married Igbo women.

Keywords: access; family planning information; married Igbo women; mass media information; modern contraceptives; sex preference.

MeSH terms

  • Access to Information*
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Contraception Behavior / statistics & numerical data*
  • Ethnicity / psychology
  • Ethnicity / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Marriage
  • Middle Aged
  • Nigeria
  • Sex Education / statistics & numerical data*
  • Young Adult