>Modern Contraception: Uptake and Correlates among Women of Reproductive Age-Group in a Rural Community of Osun State, Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Universal contraceptive access is one of the key strategies for achieving sustainable developments in any country. Yet, uptake has remained low in most developing nations like Nigeria. The reasons for low use must be contextually understood to aid effective contraceptive programming. This study assessed contraceptive use and its determinants among reproductive aged women in Ejigbo, Osun State, Nigeria. METHODS: A quantitative study involving 405 participants which were recruited using multi-stage sampling method was carried out. Data were collected using pretested semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire. Chi-Square test and binary logistic regression analysis were used for inferential statistics. RESULT: The mean age of the respondents was 28±6. The majority (92.8%) of the respondents were aware of family planning, 68.9% of them possessed good knowledge but only 53% of them demonstrated favorable contraceptive attitude. Less than half (33.0%) of those who had heard about contraception were current users of modern methods. Injectables (45.0%) and male condoms (30.0%) were the most prevalent contraceptive methods among the respondents. The main determinants of contraceptive uptake were respondents’ educational status (AOR=0.525, 95%CI=0.284-0.972), contraceptive knowledge (OR=0.512, 95%CI=1.242-1.968) and attitude (OR=0.512, 95%CI=1.2421.968). Fear of perceived side effects (45.2%), low pregnancy risk perception (35.7%) and spousal refusal (12.5%) were the main reasons for non-contraceptive use among non-users. CONCLUSION: Contraceptive demand in the study population was low in spite of high awareness level. There is a need to increase contraceptive literacy in the study population and make the services more acceptable to rural dwellers so as to meet the SDG-3 target in Nigeria.