Publications

Although long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods are highly effective with minimal side effects andrequire minimal follow-up, their utilization in Uganda has remained low at 7.8%. The reason for this low uptake isnot clear both at the country local level. Therefore, this study determined the uptake of LARC methods and exploredassociated factors among women of reproductive age attending Kampala International University Teaching Hospital(KIU-TH). A cross-sectional descriptive study design was used for this study. The data was collected using apretested structured questionnaire in an exit interview of clients that had come to KIU-TH family planning clinicafter obtaining their consent. Collected data was entered and analyzed in the computer using IBM SPSS version 25.Chi-squared analysis was done to determine the factors associated with LARC methods utilization and a point ofsignificance was a p value ≤0.05. Results were presented in tables and charts for descriptive analysis. Of the total122 respondents in the current study, it was found out that seventy-three (59.8%) participants were aged 26 to 25years, and the mean (±SD) age of participants was 27.3 (± 4.4) years. Eighty-five (69.7%) were married, 81 (66.4%)were urban residents, 61 (50.0%) were house wives, while only 25 (20.5%) had completed tertiary education. Findingsshow that only twenty-six (21.3%) were using LARC methods compared to the majority 96 (78.7%) who were usingshort term methods. Factors which were found to be significantly associated with LARC utilization were; age of 26-25 years (X2=6.13, P=0.047), rural residence (X2=8.59, P=0.003), business occupation (X2=7.93, 0.019), number ofliving children between 1 to 3 (X2, P=0.034), how soon to have the next child (X2=23.93, 0.001) and awareness ofmodern contraceptive methods (X2=10.71, P=0.001).The utilization of LARC in this study was low and wasassociated with age, residence, occupation, number of living children, how soon to have the next child and awarenessof modern contraceptive methods. The researcher recommends that; family planning education about the benefits ofLARC should be done by health providers through media, and also get enough time at the health facilities for healtheducation about different methods of contraception.