Abstract

The ability of women to choose whether and when to have children improves their health, education, and
employment opportunities. The factors that influence contraceptive use are critical variables in the evaluation of
family planning programs. The study looked at contraception knowledge, prevalence, and determinants among
women of childbearing age (WCA) at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital. A descriptive cross-sectional study design
was used to perform a total population study among women of child-bearing age attending Jinja Regional Referral
Hospital in Jinja District, Uganda. The data was collected using a pre-tested, structured interviewer-administered
questionnaire. SPSS version 21.0 was used to analyze the data. Chi-squared tests were performed to test for
relationships, and binary logistic regression was employed to identify significant predictors of contraceptive use.
The significance level was chosen at p < 0.05. The study included 295 WCA with an average age of 27.4 7.9 years.
One hundred and seventy-seven women (60.0%) were multiparous. 115 (65.0%) of these had an average birth interval of 2 years. One-third had used contraception at some point in their lives, with 26.4% currently using them. Condoms were the most often used contraceptive (33.3%) among responders. Current contraceptive use was influenced by contraceptive cost (p = 0.036), informed choice (p = 0.001), and degree of education (p = 0.024). The prevalence of contraception among respondents was low. The cost of contraception, informed choice, and level of education were determinants of current contraceptive use, and these should be leveraged for targeted interventions by all stakeholders in intervention programs