Unmet need for family planning and its associated factor among women of reproductive age in Debre Berhan Town, Amhara, Ethiopia

OBJECTIVE: Unmet need refers to fecund women who either wish to postpone the next birth (spacers) or who wish to stop childbearing (limiters) but are not using a contraceptive method. The aim of this study was to assess the unmet needs of family planning and identify associated factors in Debre Berhan town among women in reproductive age. The community-based cross-sectional study design was used among 411 study participants (women with reproductive age) at Debre Berhan town. A systematic sampling technique was used to select the households. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were done to determine the association of each independent variable with the dependent variable. RESULTS: The overall unmet need for family planning among women in reproductive age groups was found to be 30.9%. Occupational status AOR = 13.992 (1.054–185.833), from whom the respondents got information about family planning AOR = 0.018 (0.002–0.170), having a discussion with husband AOR = 16.692 (2.911–95.713) and support from husband AOR = 0.005 (0.001–0.025) was significantly associated with the outcome variable. The level of unmet need for family planning in the study area is still high compared to the target set (10%) in the national family planning guide plan for Ethiopia.