Spatial variations and socioeconomic determinants of modern contraceptive use in Ghana: A Bayesian multilevel analysis

The literature on spatial patterns and contextual factors affecting modern contraceptive use is not well-documented in Ghana. This study describes the spatial variations and estimates the socioeconomic determinants of modern contraception among women in reproductive age in Ghana. Using data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, both global and local Moran’s I test were performed to show spatial autocorrelation and Bayesian multilevel models estimated to determine socioeconomic factors affecting modern contraceptive use. The results show evidence of low prevalence and spatial clustering of modern contraception use across the country. There were also notable regional disparities in contraceptive use that favour mostly the southern regions. Modern contraceptive use is significantly associated with socioeconomic factors such as educational attainment, work status, and marital status, as well as age, religious affiliation, and parity. Contextual factors such as the convenient location of health facility and family planning messages exposure also have a considerable positive effect on modern contraceptive use. Uneducated, unemployed and never-married women are considerably disadvantaged in the utilisation of modern contraception in Ghana. Socioeconomic and contextual factors play a key role in modern contraceptive use in Ghana.