Reversible Long Term Contraceptives Utilization among Married Women of Reproductive Age Group in Areka town, South Ethiopia
Abstract Background: In low income countries, maternal mortality rate remains high. Bearing many children is the main factor affecting maternal health. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of reversible long term contraceptives utilization and identify factors associated with it among married women of child bearing age in Areka town in South Ethiopia Methods: We did a community-based cross-sectional survey involving systematically recruited 346 married women of reproductive age group. Data was collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire on May 2019. We used SPSS version 25 for data entry and analyses. Bivariate logistic regression analysis was used to select exposure variables with a crude association. Multivariate analysis was done to control for potential confounders and identify predictors of the outcome. Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with 95% Confidence Interval (CI) was reported and statistical significance was declared at p <0.05.Results: The prevalence of reversible long term contraceptives utilization among married women of reproductive age group was 38.7% in the study area. Utilization of reversible long term contraceptives was positively associated with being Protestant Christian religion follower (AOR=5.33; 95% CI: 1.63, 17.40), advanced educational status (AOR=5.78; 95% CI: 1.97, 17.02), history of abortion (AOR=7.17; 95% CI: 2.81, 18.27), and having a better attitude towards reversible long term contraceptives (AOR=2.85; 95% CI: 1.46, 5.57). Whereas, being a housewife (AOR=.27; 95% CI: .09, .79) and daily laborer (AOR=.14; 95% CI: .02, .80), having no radio in the household (AOR=.40; 95% CI: .16, .99) and making fertility decisions alone (AOR=.12; 95% CI: .04, .37) were negatively associated. Conclusion: Women should be empowered educationally through other alternative opportunities to school. On top of electronic media, other alternative media should be used to convey messages on contraceptives particularly RLTCs. Behavioral change communications would benefit women in shaping their attitudes towards RLTCs.