KNOWLEDGE AND UTILIZATION OF FAMILY PLANNING AMONG WOMEN AGED 15-49 YEARS ATTENDING BAWKU PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL IN THE BAWKU MUNICIPALITY

Abstract

There is limited use of family planning services in the study area. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and utilization of family planning among women aged 15-49 years who attended the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital in the Bawku municipal. Descriptive cross sectional survey design was used to conduct the study with simple random sampling technique used to sample the respondents from the study area. In all, 344 respondents were sampled from the study area. Structured questionnaire as a tool was used to obtain the necessary information. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 21.0, and computed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings from the research revealed that respondents’ knowledge on family planning was adequate. From the results, there was a relationship between respondents age and having used family planning methods (χ2 =315.55; p˂ 0.001). Hundred (29.1%) respondents said they had ever used injectable before. Most 134 (39%) considered socio-cultural factors as hindrance to family planning services uptake. It showed that there was a significant association in terms of education of respondents and having access family planning services (ANOVA; p ˂ 0.001). It showed that 226 (65.7%) respondents said their husbands approved family planning services for them whilst 118 (34.3%) respondents said their husbands do not approve family planning services for them. The study concludes that family planning usage in the study area was not impressive. The study recommends that awareness creation on the importance of family planning among women at the study institution is necessary.