Prevalence and Associated Factors of Unmet Need for Family Planning among Married Women in Enemay District, Northwest Ethiopia: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction : Millions of women want to delay or avoid pregnancy but are not using contraception. Ethiopia has the highest levels of unmet need for family planning among African countries. The 2011 Ethiopia Demographic and Health survey found that 25.3 percent of women had unmet need for family planning, 16.3 % for spacing and 9 % for limiting. Thus, this study was designed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of unmet need for family planning in Enemay district, Nortwest Ethiopia. Methods : Community based comparative crosssectional study design was employed using multi-stage sampling technique. Data were collected through interviewing married reproductive age women using semi-structured questionnaire. Data were entered and analyzed using Epi data version 3.1 and SPSS version 16 statistical software respectively. Results : The overall unmet need for family planning was 193 (25.6%) of which 119 (15.8%) was for spacing and 74 (9.8%) for limiting. It was 69 (18.4%) and 124 (32.7%) in urban and rural areas of the district respectively. Age at first marriage, educational status of the women and their partners, partner attitude towards family planning services utilization, current menstrual status, healthcare providers visit and discussion about family planning issues were the main predicting factors of unmet need for family planning. Conclusion : The overall prevalence of unmet need in the district was high. Empowering women through education and healthcare providers visit should be strengthened.