The study aimed to assess factors influencing contraceptive uptake among young women aged 15–24 years in Bolgatanga Municipal District, northern Ghana.
An analytical cross-sectional community-based study was conducted between December 2015 and April 2016. Five-hundred and eighty participants were selected through multistage sampling and interviewed using a pretested structured questionnaire.
The mean age of the participants was 20.5 years. About a third were less than 20 years old. Contraceptive knowledge was nearly universal. About 67% of sexually experienced young women had used contraceptives, but less than a quarter had used LARC. Age was the only independent predictor of contraceptive use: women in their 20s were more than twice as likely as adolescents to use contraceptives (95% confidence interval 2.04, 3.71; p < 0.001).
The study concluded that strategies to improve contraceptive uptake among young people in the municipality should encourage the use of LARC. It is essential to understand contraceptive use in certain regions to help make better awareness and counseling strategies. Further studies are required to explore contraceptive use among young women in northern Ghana.
Reference: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13625187.2020.1783651
