Factors Affecting Uptake of Contraceptives Among Women Aged 15 - 25 in the Context of Early Pregnancy and HIV/AIDS Prevention in Uganda

Abstract:

This study investigates young women’s contraceptive uptake levels as a way of delaying pregnancy and preventing sexually transmitted diseases for sustainable future development of young people. Young female adults’ pregnancy is a global social health concern. It results in early school drop outs and poor performance at school due to absenteeism during pregnancy; unsafe sex also facilitates the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like HIV and AIDS, as well as high rate of termination of pregnancy (TOP), which further exposes young women to the danger of maternal mortality. A quantitative method with survey sampling design was used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, knowledge and use of contraceptives, contraceptive types and factors affecting access and use of contraceptives. We analyzed data for frequency distributions, mean and standard deviation from mean as well as Chi square test of observed versus expected. From the results, two major themes were revealed in results: (1). The young women aged between 15 and 19 years prefer easy to use contraceptives and would readily visit providers of such devices they could handle without complications. Cost of a contraceptive and privacy concerns were the major factors perceived as influencing use of contraceptives by young women aged between 15 and 25. In conclusion, the results of this study showed that overwhelming majority of participants had knowledge about contraceptives and reasons for their usage; they gave different reasons for using contraceptives, with pregnancy prevention and control of STIs being the major motivating factors.