Married women decision making autonomy on health care utilization in high fertility sub-Saharan African countries: A multilevel analysis of recent Demographic and Health Survey

BACKGROUND: Women’s decision-making autonomy has a potential impact on the scale-up of health care utilization. In high fertility countries, evidence regarding women’s decision-making autonomy on their health care utilization and its associated factors is limited and inconclusive. Hence, it is important to investigate women decision-making autonomy on their health care utilization and associated factors in high fertility countries in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS: The data source for this study was obtained from recent Demographic and Health Surveys that were comprised of a weighted sample of 178875 reproductive age women. A multilevel mixed-effect binary logistic regression model was fitted. The odds ratios, along with the 95% confidence interval were generated to identify individual and community-level factors associated with women’s autonomy in health care decision-making. A p-value less than 0.05 was declared as statistical significance. RESULTS: In this study, 42% (95% CI: 41.7, 42.3) of women were able to exercise their reproductive autonomy. The highest (74.8%) and the lowest (19.74%) magnitude of women autonomy was found in Angola and Mali, respectively. In multilevel analysis; age of women 25–34 years, 35 and above (AOR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.29, 1.39), and (AOR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.75, 1.90), women’s primary and secondary educational level (AOR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.20, 1.31), and (AOR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.32, 1.54), husband primary and secondary educational level (AOR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.18, 1.29), and (AOR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.15, 1.27), women who had work (AOR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.59, 1.74) female household heads (AOR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.37, 1.51), media exposure (AOR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.18), health insurance coverage (AOR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.17, 1.36), urban residence (AOR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.19), community education (AOR = 2.43, 95% CI: 2.07, 2.85) and low community poverty level (AOR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.49) were predictor variables. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: Although every woman has the right to make her own health care decisions, this study showed that almost 58% of them had no role in making decisions about their health care utilization. Thus, each country Government should support women’s decision making autonomy regarding their healthcare utilization through mass media and extensive behavioral education.