SOCIO-CULTURAL DETERMINANTS OF CONTRACEPTIVES USE AMONG ADOLESCENTS IN NORTHERN GHANA

Abstract

Adolescent in both rural and urban areas in developing nations are often underserved by family planning service providers. This limits the knowledge level of young men and women about contraceptive methods. The purpose of this study was to examine what determines contraceptive use among adolescents. Data collection spans January to December 2013 with 400 adolescent men and women of reproductive age as study respondents in the Yendi Municipality of Northern Region of Ghana. The data collection tool was questionnaire and focus group discussion. SPSS version 20 was used in the analysis. It was found that most adolescents would use contraceptives if they did not want to get pregnant or if they want to continue with their education. Overall, the desired family size was lower among all the adolescents. It was observed that once a teenage woman has had a child; contraceptive use prevalence rises to a level comparable to that of women in their twenties. The paper recommends that the family planning officers should give more attention to adolescents. Successful side-effect management and proper education in family planning could increase contraceptive use among adolescents