DO YOUNGER WOMEN USE CONTRACEPTION LESS THAN OLDER WOMEN IN UGANDA?

Not so much has been documented about determinants of contraceptive use among sexually active younger women in comparison with older women. Most of the existing literature generalizes contraceptive use among all women. Understanding determinants of contraceptive use among different age groups is key in the development of highly effective family planning programmes.
Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) 2011 dataset was used. The sample comprised of 1,697 married and sexually active women. Binary logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between selected independent variables and the outcome variable (current use of modern contraception).
More factors were found to be associated with contraceptive use among young women (15-24) compared to older women (25-34). Contraceptive use among young women was associated with: education, region, empowerment and desire for children. Apart from desire for children, all other significant factors associated with contraceptive use were found among the young women (15-24).
It is recommended that there is need for consistent provision of Family Planning services to cater for spacing needs (desire) of the women as well as ensuring completion of secondary school since these were associated with contraceptive use.