Unmet need for contraception and its associated factors among women in Papua New Guinea: analysis from the demographic and health survey

BACKGROUND: Unmet need for contraception is highest in low-and middle-income countries. In Papua New Guinea, about 26% of married women and 65% of unmarried sexually active women have an unmet need for contraception. This study investigated the prevalence and correlates of unmet need for contraception among women in Papua New Guinea. METHODS: Data for the study were extracted from the most recent 2016–18 Papua New Guinea Demographic and Health Survey. We included 7950 women with complete data on all variables of interest. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the factors associated with unmet needs for contraception using four models. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to present the results of the regression analysis. RESULTS: We found that the overall unmet need for contraception was 32.2%. The odds of unmet needs for contraception was higher among cohabiting women [AOR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.01, 1.56], women with 1–3 births [AOR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.18, 2.08], and women with 4 or more births [AOR = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.13, 2.27]. Likewise, a higher probability of unmet need was found among women whose partners decided on their healthcare as compared to those who decided on their own healthcare [AOR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.066, 1.71]. With regards to wealth, the likelihood of unmet contraceptive need decreased with an increase in wealth status. With region, it was found that women in the Mamose region had greater likelihood of unmet contraceptive need compared to those in Southern region [AOR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.09, 1.63]. CONCLUSION: Our study contributes to the discussion on unmet need for contraception in the context of Papua New Guinea. We found the overall prevalence of unmet need for contraception to be relatively high among women in Papua New Guinea. Public health interventions aimed at addressing women's contraception needs should be encouraged so that women can make informed decisions about contraceptive use. These interventions should be implemented taking into consideration significant socio-demographic characteristics of women as identified in this study.