Publications

This study aimed to explore the factors influencing the utilization of family planningservices among women of reproductive age at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital inKabarole, Uganda. Employing a descriptive cross-sectional hospital-based design and asimple random sampling technique, 174 women in the reproductive age group wereincluded in the study. Self-administered questionnaires were utilized for data collection,which was then coded, entered, and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20. The resultswere presented in frequency and percentage charts and tables, accompanied by Pvalues,odds ratios, and their respective confidence intervals where relevant. Thefindings revealed that 44.91% of participants at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital inWestern Uganda used contraceptives. Among them, 66.7% discussed contraceptives withtheir partners, while 51.1% opted for a specific contraceptive method during their lastsexual encounter prior to the study. Interestingly, 35.1% considered condoms to be themost effective form of contraception, followed by implanon and oral pills at 14.9% and14.4%, respectively. Safe days/withdrawal and injectable contraceptives were perceivedas the least effective at 10.9% each. Accessibility and availability were cited as primaryreasons for contraceptive choice by 21.8% of respondents, followed by safety with fewerside effects (16.1%), ease of use (6.3%), and affordability (5.2%). Household size, with themajority having 1-5 members (36.8%), and the number of children under five in thefamily (45.4% with 1-5 children) were notable demographic factors influencing familyplanning choices. However, the study highlighted a low level of family planningutilization (44.9%) among women at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital,predominantly favoring male condoms (40.7%). This utilization was significantlyaffected by socio-demographic factors such as marital status, place of residence,occupation, and income levels. Furthermore, the type, duration, frequency, availability,accessibility, affordability, and perceived side effects or effectiveness of contraceptivessignificantly influenced the likelihood of family planning utilization