Factors Affecting the Uptake of Family Planning Services in Rural Communities: A Case Study Of Uturu in Isuikwuato LGA, Abia State.
CHAPTER ONE
Objective of the study
The objectives of the study are;
- To ascertain the factor affecting the uptake of family planning services in rural communities
- To find out if inadequate information can lead to family planning
- To find out whether increase in teenage pregnancies and unsafe abortions as well as the maternal mortalities that occurred could have been prevented if uptake of family planning services were improved
- To find out whether there is free family planning in uturu, Isuikwuato LGA, Abia State
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
ETHICAL ISSUES PERTAINING FAMILY PLANNING AND POPULATION CONTROL IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Family Planning and Population control policies can be argued to be paternalistic and thus restrict individual autonomy. Such paternalistic approach raise questions such as: can the freedom of a person be justifiably restricted in order to compel that person to benefit himself, or can it be restricted in order to benefit society as a whole? From John Stuart Mills’s essay “On Liberty”, in which he defends individualism against intrusion by the state and society in general he wrote: “….The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of the civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not sufficient warrant” (Mill, John Stuart, On Liberty (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003).” So, from Mill’s point of view it is justifiable to control population in order to benefit society as a whole. However, population control through coercive methods not only interferes with individual’s liberty but also are in contrast to the international human and reproductive health rights as put forward in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR 1948). The government of Argentina for example, made it harder for women to access ‘the pill’ because they wanted to increase population growth, while the Peruvian Government shut down all clinics associated and sponsored by International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) in bid to increase population growth (Warwick, 1974). Considering the above fact, do governments have the right to restrict individual freedom and right to have fewer or more children? This raise difficult and debatable questions regarding appropriate relationship between the individual and the government (state); and whether governments actions directed at individuals in the name of their own health-paternalistic actionsare really justifiable. Most of the family planning and population control programs in most of the developing countries are foreign funded and managed by foreign agencies (Warwick, 1974). This raises an ethical issue as it make it difficult to separate the foreign and the domestic questions. For example to what extent do these policies and programs answers and meet foreign needs and expectation as compared to the domestic ones or to what extent do the individual countries and domestic authorities have a say in these matters. However, as far as the question of investment by developed countries in population control programs in developing countries is concerned, this can be due to the fact that developing nations may themselves have realized that population growth is a problem and thus requested assistance on the matter. Therefore, one may argue that it will be unethical for the developed nations not to respond to the plea in the same way as they would have responded in other sectors such as agriculture, education or any other area of public health. The fact that many developing nations are economically depending on the developed countries and western led institutions such as World Bank and International Monetary Fund, makes them vulnerable and prone to pressure from that side of the world. This, unfortunately, has made many developing nations feel that their credit rating will be improved if they have population control mechanisms programs in place (Warwick, 1974).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to Factors Affecting the Uptake of Family Planning Services in Rural Communities: A Case Study Of Uturu in Isuikwuato LGA, Abia State.
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
DATA ANALYSIS
The data collected from the respondents were analyzed in tabular form with simple percentage for easy understanding.
A total of 133(one hundred and thirty three) questionnaires were distributed and 133 questionnaires were returned.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was on Factors Affecting the Uptake of Family Planning Services in Rural Communities. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of Factors Affecting the Uptake of Family Planning Services in Rural Communities.
Summary
This study was on Factors Affecting the Uptake of Family Planning Services in Rural Communities. Four objectives were raised which included: To ascertain the factor affecting the uptake of family planning services in rural communities, to find out if inadequate information can lead to family planning, to find out whether increase in teenage pregnancies and unsafe abortions as well as the maternal mortalities that occurred could have been prevented if uptake of family planning services were improved and to find out whether there is free family planning in uturu, Isuikwuato LGA, Abia State. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 selected residents in uturu, Isuikwuato LGA, Abia State. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made married men, married women, civil servants and youths were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
In conclusion, this study has provided evidence to demonstrate that although the awareness of family planning services among community members could be high, it does not necessarily increase the uptake of family planning services if community members are not well informed about the benefits of family planning. It is therefore essential to organise educational campaigns on the awareness of family planning services by emphasising on the benefits of the services as it will help reduce misconceptions, and increase access and utilization of family planning services. Males should also be educated on the benefits of family planning services so as to reduce opposition from husbands. Furthermore, if women have the desire to space their children as well as prevent pregnancy and STIs, they are more likely to use the service.
Recommendation
Based on the findings, it is recommended that more married people should adopt family planning methods as a means of controlling birth rate which could reduce population growth. Also, Government should put up more enlightment programme that could aid couples to see the need for family planning so as to enhance better development of the Nation.
References
- Eliason S, Baiden F, Quansah-Asare G, Graham-Hayfron Y, Bonsu D, Phillips J, Awusabo-Asare K. Factors influencing the intention of women in rural Ghana to adopt postpartum family planning. Reprod Health [Online]. 2013. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3724747/
- Cates W J, Abdool Karim Q, El-Sadr W, Haffner DW, Kalema-Zikusoka G, et al: Global development. Family planning and the millennium development goals. Science. 2010; 329:1603. PubMed | Google Scholar Sachs JD,
- McArthur JW. The millennium project: a plan for meeting the millennium development goals. Lancet. 2005; 365(9456):347-353
- Yue K, O’Donnel C, Sparks PL. The effect of spousal communication on contraceptive use in Central Terai, Nepal. Patient Educ Couns. 2010;81(3):402-408. PubMed | Google Schola
- r Crossette B. Reproductive health and the millennium development goals: the missing link. Stud Fam Plann. 2005; 36:71-79. PubMed
- Lauria L, Donati S, Spinelli A, Bonciani M, Grandolfo ME. The effect of contraceptive counselling in the pre and post-natal period on contraceptive use at three months after delivery among Italian and immigrant women. Ann Ist Super Sanita. 2014;50(1):54-61. PubMed | Google Scholar
- Malini B, Narayanan E. Unmet need for family planning among married women of reproductive age group in urban Tamil Nadu. Journal of Family & Community Medicine. 2014; 21(1): 53-5. PubMed | Google Scholar
