Family Planning Service Uptake in Hospitals in Rivers State, Nigeria.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Reproductive Health
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Family planning is crucial for managing pregnancies and includes contraceptive methods and infertility treatment.
• This study focused on family planning services offered in all hospitals in Rivers State, Nigeria.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the uptake patterns of family planning services in Rivers State hospitals.
• To identify trends in contraceptive method utilization over an eight-year period.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective review of family planning data from 2014 to 2021 was conducted.
• Data was sourced from the District Health Information System 2 (DHIS 2) platform, encompassing 387 health facilities.
• Frequencies, percentages, and charts were used to represent the collected data.

Main Results:

• Over 931,000 individuals received counseling, with 45.3% accepting family planning services.
• Condoms were the most used method (65.3%), followed by injectables (16.1%), implants (9.4%), oral contraceptive pills (7.8%), and intrauterine devices (1.3%).
• A notable increase in the utilization of condoms, injectables, and oral contraceptive pills was observed from 2014 to 2021.

Conclusions:

• Family planning service utilization showed an upward trend among women of childbearing age in Rivers State during the study period.
• The high utilization of condoms suggests widespread acceptance and approval of this method.
• Understanding contraceptive utilization trends is vital for monitoring family planning program effectiveness.