Patterns and trends of contraceptive use among sexually active adolescents in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and Nigeria

Evidence from cross-sectional studies

Bibliographic Data

ID19529287
AuthorsSennen Hounton (United Nations Population Fund, corresponding author), Aluísio J D Barros (0000-0002-2022-8729, Universidade Federal de Pelotas), Agbessi Amouzou (0000-0002-6262-3866, United Nations Children's Fund), Solomon Shiferaw (0000-0002-9285-1480, Addis Ababa University), Abdoulaye Maiga (0000-0002-0475-1106, Institut Superieur Des Sciences De La Population), Akanni Akinyemi (0000-0001-8652-9359, Obafemi Awolowo University), Howard S Friedman (0000-0002-3528-5136, United Nations Population Fund), Howard Friedman, Desmond Koroma (United Nations Population Fund)
Year2015
Volume8
Issue1
Pages29737
Publication date2015-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGlobal Health Action (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1654-9716 • E-ISSN: 1654-9880
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.3402/gha.v8.29737
PMID26562143
OpenAlexW2132810870
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited9

BACKGROUND: The benefits of universal access to voluntary contraception have been widely documented in terms of maternal and newborn survival, women's empowerment, and human capital. Given population dynamics, the choices and opportunities adolescents have in terms of access to sexual and reproductive health information and services could significantly affect the burden of diseases and nations' human capital. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this paper are to assess the patterns and trends of modern contraception use among sexually active adolescents by socio-economic characteristics and by birth spacing and parity; to explore predictors of use of modern contraception in relation to the health system; and to discuss implications of the findings for family planning policy and programmes. DESIGN: Data are from the last three Demographic and Health Surveys of Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria. The descriptive analysis focused on sexually active adolescents (15- to 19-year age group), used modern contraception as the dependent variable, and a series of contact points with the health system (antenatal care, institutional delivery, postnatal care, immunisation) as covariates. The multivariate analysis used the same covariates, adjusting for socio-economic variables. RESULTS: There are two different groups of sexually active adolescents: those married or in a union with very low use of modern contraception and lower socio-economic status, and those unmarried, among whom nearly 50% are using modern contraception. Younger adolescents have lower modern contraceptive prevalence. There are significant inequality issues in modern contraception use by education, residence, and wealth quintile. However, while there was no significant progress in Burkina Faso and Nigeria, the data in Ethiopia point to a significant and systematic reduction of inequalities. The narrowing of the equity gap was most notable for childbearing adolescents with no education or living in rural areas. In the three countries, after adjusting for socio-economic variables, the strongest factors affecting modern contraception use among childbearing adolescents were marriage and child immunisation. CONCLUSIONS: Addressing child marriage and adopting effective policies and strategies to reach married adolescents are critical for improving empowerment and human capital of adolescent girls. The reduction of the equity gap in coverage in Ethiopia warrants further studies and documentation. The results suggest a missed opportunity for maternal and newborn and family planning integration

Cross-sectional study · Developing country · Economic growth · Environmental health · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Demography · Gender, Education, and Development Issues · Global Maternal and Child Health · Medicine

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