Trends in emergency contraception awareness among women and girls in 28 sub-Saharan countries

Abstract Background Studies have shown that emergency contraception (EC) remains underutilised in preventing unintended pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Small-scale surveys have attributed EC underutilisation to gaps in EC awareness among SSA women and girls. However, limited studies have expl...

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Autores principales:	Oluwafemi Emmanuel Awopegba, Okechukwu Stephen Chukwudeh, Eyitayo Omolara Owolabi, Anthony Idowu Ajayi
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	BMC 2021
Materias:	Awareness Emergency contraception Sub-Saharan Africa Trends Unintended pregnancy Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/81e53232fa0c4782a092a02ff4fe11a6
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:81e53232fa0c4782a092a02ff4fe11a62021-11-08T10:43:35ZTrends in emergency contraception awareness among women and girls in 28 sub-Saharan countries10.1186/s12889-021-12067-y1471-2458https://doaj.org/article/81e53232fa0c4782a092a02ff4fe11a62021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12067-yhttps://doaj.org/toc/1471-2458Abstract Background Studies have shown that emergency contraception (EC) remains underutilised in preventing unintended pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Small-scale surveys have attributed EC underutilisation to gaps in EC awareness among SSA women and girls. However, limited studies have explored trends in EC awareness in SSA. We address this gap by examining trends in EC awareness using data from 28 SSA countries. Our analysis was disaggregated by age distribution, place of residence, level of education, and wealth to show differences in EC awareness trend. Methods We analysed the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data of 1,030,029 women aged 15 to 49 on emergency contraception awareness. EC awareness was defined as having ever heard of special pills to prevent pregnancy within 3 days after unprotected sexual intercourse. Frequencies and percentages were used to summarise trends in EC awareness between years 2000 and 2019. Results Overall, there was an upward shift in the level of EC awareness in all countries, except in Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, and Ethiopia. While some countries recorded a significant upward trend in EC awareness, others recorded just a slight increase. Women in Kenya, Ghana, Gabon, and Cameroon had the highest upward shift in EC awareness. For example, only 28% of women were aware of EC in Ghana in 2003, but in 2014, 64% of women knew about EC, an increase of over 36 percentage points. Increase in EC awareness was starker among women aged 20–24 years, those who resided in urban areas, had higher education, and belong to the highest wealth quintile, than those aged 15–19, in rural areas, with no formal education and belonging to the lowest wealth quintile. Conclusion Our analysis shows that the level of EC awareness has increased substantially in most SSA countries. However, EC awareness still differs widely within and between SSA countries. Intervention to improve EC awareness should focus on women aged 15 to 19, those with no formal education, residing in rural areas, and within the lowest quintile, especially, in countries such as Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Ethiopia where level of EC is low with lagging progress.Oluwafemi Emmanuel AwopegbaOkechukwu Stephen ChukwudehEyitayo Omolara OwolabiAnthony Idowu AjayiBMCarticleAwarenessEmergency contraceptionSub-Saharan AfricaTrendsUnintended pregnancyPublic aspects of medicineRA1-1270ENBMC Public Health, Vol 21, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Awareness Emergency contraception Sub-Saharan Africa Trends Unintended pregnancy Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
spellingShingle	Awareness Emergency contraception Sub-Saharan Africa Trends Unintended pregnancy Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Oluwafemi Emmanuel Awopegba Okechukwu Stephen Chukwudeh Eyitayo Omolara Owolabi Anthony Idowu Ajayi Trends in emergency contraception awareness among women and girls in 28 sub-Saharan countries
description	Abstract Background Studies have shown that emergency contraception (EC) remains underutilised in preventing unintended pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Small-scale surveys have attributed EC underutilisation to gaps in EC awareness among SSA women and girls. However, limited studies have explored trends in EC awareness in SSA. We address this gap by examining trends in EC awareness using data from 28 SSA countries. Our analysis was disaggregated by age distribution, place of residence, level of education, and wealth to show differences in EC awareness trend. Methods We analysed the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data of 1,030,029 women aged 15 to 49 on emergency contraception awareness. EC awareness was defined as having ever heard of special pills to prevent pregnancy within 3 days after unprotected sexual intercourse. Frequencies and percentages were used to summarise trends in EC awareness between years 2000 and 2019. Results Overall, there was an upward shift in the level of EC awareness in all countries, except in Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, and Ethiopia. While some countries recorded a significant upward trend in EC awareness, others recorded just a slight increase. Women in Kenya, Ghana, Gabon, and Cameroon had the highest upward shift in EC awareness. For example, only 28% of women were aware of EC in Ghana in 2003, but in 2014, 64% of women knew about EC, an increase of over 36 percentage points. Increase in EC awareness was starker among women aged 20–24 years, those who resided in urban areas, had higher education, and belong to the highest wealth quintile, than those aged 15–19, in rural areas, with no formal education and belonging to the lowest wealth quintile. Conclusion Our analysis shows that the level of EC awareness has increased substantially in most SSA countries. However, EC awareness still differs widely within and between SSA countries. Intervention to improve EC awareness should focus on women aged 15 to 19, those with no formal education, residing in rural areas, and within the lowest quintile, especially, in countries such as Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Ethiopia where level of EC is low with lagging progress.
format	article
author	Oluwafemi Emmanuel Awopegba Okechukwu Stephen Chukwudeh Eyitayo Omolara Owolabi Anthony Idowu Ajayi
author_facet	Oluwafemi Emmanuel Awopegba Okechukwu Stephen Chukwudeh Eyitayo Omolara Owolabi Anthony Idowu Ajayi
author_sort	Oluwafemi Emmanuel Awopegba
title	Trends in emergency contraception awareness among women and girls in 28 sub-Saharan countries
title_short	Trends in emergency contraception awareness among women and girls in 28 sub-Saharan countries
title_full	Trends in emergency contraception awareness among women and girls in 28 sub-Saharan countries
title_fullStr	Trends in emergency contraception awareness among women and girls in 28 sub-Saharan countries
title_full_unstemmed	Trends in emergency contraception awareness among women and girls in 28 sub-Saharan countries
title_sort	trends in emergency contraception awareness among women and girls in 28 sub-saharan countries
publisher	BMC
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/81e53232fa0c4782a092a02ff4fe11a6
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Trends in emergency contraception awareness among women and girls in 28 sub-Saharan countries

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