Abstract
The study investigates the socio-economic factors affecting utilization of family planning services among women of reproductive (15-49 years) age. It specifically assesses the factors that affect utilization of family planning services among women of reproductive age in Owo LGA.
The study employed descriptive survey research design and a well-constructed questionnaire to obtain responses from respondents in four communities randomly selected from two wards of the eleven wards in the LGA. A sample size of 401 women was arrived at using the assumption used to estimate the sample size of single population proportion for prevalence studies by Kish Leslie (1965). Data from 384 respondents were collected and used for the analysis. It also adopted simple percentage method; bivariate and multivariate logistic regression model in the analysis.
The results of both the unadjusted (bivariate) odds ratio and adjusted (multivariate) odds ratio using logistic regression were presented where contraceptive utilization was used as proxy for family planning utilization. For the unadjusted model, maternal education, marital status, religion and cost of transportation to primary health centers were the significant predictors of contraceptive use. However, only maternal education significantly influenced the use of modern contraceptive after adjusting for other covariates in the adjusted model in Owo L.G.A. The study therefore concludes that a significant proportion of the women were not using modern contraceptive, hence attitudes towards modern contraceptive was poor in the L.G.A. The study recommended health information education that helps to re-orientate the women on the negative belief of side effects and infertility associated with contraceptives should be promoted
Key Words: Family planning, Contraceptive, Education, Unmet need, Utilization.
