ABSTRACTBackground: The use of contraceptive has been documented as one of the effective strategies in reducing the incidence of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections especially among the youth. However, studies in developing countries have shown that contraceptive use remains low amongst the youth who are most vulnerable to risky …
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ABSTRACTBackground: The use of contraceptive has been documented as one of the effective strategies in reducing the incidence of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections especially among the youth. However, studies in developing countries have shown that contraceptive use remains low amongst the youth who are most vulnerable to risky sexual behaviours. Therefore, this study sought to assess factors influencing contraceptive use among female adolescents in the Ningo Prampram District in the Greater Accra region.Methodology: The study design adopted was a descriptive cross-sectional design. Multi stage sampling method was used to select 228 adolescents for the study, aged 15-19 years from six sub districts. Data collected was entered into Microsoft excel and exported to SPSS version 22 for analysis. Results were presented in frequency distribution tables and figures. Chi square test was used to determine statistical significance and strength of association between the outcome and explanatory variables. A 5% margin of error was used to establish statistical significance. Results: Most (79.8%) adolescents were aware of contraceptives, whilst more than half (67.5%) had heard of modern contraceptives. Peers (38.2%) and health workers (15.4%) were the major sources of information on contraceptives. The study observed that, most adolescents (62.7%) had used contraceptives before. Also, the study found a statistically significant association between adolescent knowledge of contraceptives and its use. Other factors that had a statistically significant association with contraceptives use were; educational level, religious affiliation, educational level of respondent’s mother, residential arrangement, and place to access contraceptives. Adolescents whose mothers had attained primary education or higher were less likely to use contraceptives as compared to their counterparts whose mothers had no form of education. Similarly, adolescents who practised Islamic religion had lower odds of using contraceptives as against those who observed the Christian faith. Furthermore, the study revealed that, single and cohabitating adolescents were less likely to use contraceptives compared to those who were married, though this finding was not statistically significant. Conclusion: It is recommended that, stakeholders championing adolescent health should design programmes, to re-target well educated adolescents in the district to help them appreciate the essence of the use of contraceptives so that they can educate or share the knowledge with their peers. Also, much efforts should be directed to singles and co-habiting adolescents who are dropping out in the use of contraceptives and re-assure them of the efficacy of contraceptives in prevention of unplanned pregnancy.
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