Modern Contraceptive Method Utilization and Associated Factors Among Women of Reproductive Age in Gondar City, Northwest Ethiopia

Mohammed Oumer,1,2 Agmas Manaye,3 Zelalem Mengistu4 1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Amhara, Ethiopia; 2Department of Human Anatomy, School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Amhara, Ethiopia; 3Departments of Nursing, College of Medical Sciences, MTY Abyssinia Medical Science College, Gondar, Amhara, Ethiopia; 4Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Amhara, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Mohammed Oumer Email mohammedoumer58@gmail.comBackground: Family planning is defined as the ability of couples or individuals to attain their desired number of children, spacing, and timing of their births with the use of contraceptive methods. Ethiopia is one of the most populated countries in Africa with a high fertility rate, a highly unmet need for family planning, and low contraceptive utilization.Objective: This study aims to assess modern contraceptive method utilization and associated factors among women of reproductive age in Gondar City, Northwest Ethiopia.Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study design was undertaken with 708 women in the reproductive age in Gondar City, using a structured questionnaire combined with face-to-face interviews. Descriptive analysis, binary, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were applied to analyze the data.Results: In this study, 41.2% of the respondents utilized modern contraceptive methods. Of the study participants, 52.1 % had good knowledge and 45.3% had a favorable attitude towards modern contraceptive methods. After adjusting for covariates, the odds of using modern contraceptive methods were 3.6 times, 4.7 times, 2.4 times, and 4 times higher among women of the age 20– 24, 25– 29, preparatory education, and degree holders, respectively. In addition, for the women having up to six desired children [AOR (Adjusted Odds Ratio) = 2.4 (95% CI: 1.1, 5.3)], a history of no-child death experience [AOR= 4.4 (95% CI: 1.03, 19.1)], good knowledge [AOR= 4.1 (95% CI: 2.7, 6.0)], and favorable attitude [AOR= 3.5 (95% CI: 2.4, 5.1)] were positively associated with modern contraceptive utilization.Conclusion: The majority of participants had good knowledge about, but the unfavorable attitude towards the utilization of modern contraceptive methods. Therefore, the authors recommended that special awareness creation with the help of health education interventions should be employed in the community.Keywords: modern contraceptive utilization, knowledge, attitude, reproductive age, Gondar City, Ethiopia