| dc.description.abstract | This study established various factors affecting utilization of family planning services among adolescents in Kikandwa Sub-County. To achieve this purpose, four specific research objectives were formed and these include: to determine the level of knowledge of adolescents on family planning services; to identify health system related services affecting utilization of family planning; to find out socio-demographic factors affecting utilization of family planning services among adolescents; to examine cultural factors affecting utilization of family of family planning services among adolescents. In the literature review, different concepts and ideas about different factors have been analyzed. This was done objective by objective so as to understand and clarify the research variables. In the research methodology, descriptive survey design was used. The study area was Kikandwa Sub-County in Mityana District. The total target population was 420 and this comprised of primary six and seven pupils from Kabongezo primary school and students from Nakwaya Secondary School from which a sample size of 205 was determined using Slovene’s formula. Systematic random sampling was used to sample respondents’ questionnaires and Focus Group Discussion was used to administer students and pupils respectively. Validity of the research instruments was done through expert judgments and pretesting was to determine reliability.
Data was analyzed with the help of SPSS and tables with frequencies and percentages were used to present the data. The research findings show that over 75 % of the adolescents investigated did not have considerable knowledge about family planning services in Kikandwa Sub-County; the utilization of family planning services among 80 % of the adolescents was low because of health system related factors; 67 % of the adolescents do not utilize family planning services because of socio-demographic factors; 79 % of the adolescents fail to use family planning services because of cultural factors. It was therefore concluded that the level of knowledge among adolescents in Kinkandwa Sub-County is still low; health system related factors; socio-economic factors and cultural factors significantly affect utilization of family planning services among adolescents.
It was therefore recommended that different stakeholders such as government, NGOs, community leaders and other interested parties should work together and incorporate creating awareness to adolescents about family planning services such that the level of utilization of family planning services among them can be enhanced so as to reduce unwanted pregnancies that lead to unsafe abortions, sexually transmitted infections at times ending into death. | en_US |
