Population and Demography Unit, Zambia Statistics Agency, Lusaka, Zambia.
Department of Population Studies and Global Health, School of Public Health, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
BMC Womens Health. 2022 Apr 27;22(1):137. doi: 10.1186/s12905-022-01709-x.
Unmet need for family planning among married women is still a public health concern in sub-Saharan Africa. In Zambia, one in every five married women had an unmet need for family planning in 2018. Unmet need for family planning has the potential to increase the number of unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions. These factors can increase the proportion of women of child bearing age, who are at high risk of birth complications. This study was therefore conducted to understand the determinants of unmet need for family planning among married women in Zambia based on recent cross-sectional data.
The study analysed data extracted from the Zambia Demographic and Health Survey, which was a representative cross-sectional survey conducted in 2018. The analysis was done on a sample of 7598 currently married women aged 15-49 years. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine determinants of unmet need for family planning in Zambia. The analyses was weighted to account for complex sample design.
Prevalence of unmet need for family planning is still high in Zambia at 20%. Women in the age groups 25-34 and 35-49 were less likely to have total unmet need for family planning (AOR = 0.61; 95% CI 0.47, 0.78) and (AOR = 0.63; 95% CI 0.45, 0.86) respectively, compared with those aged 15-24 years. Age of a woman, parity, household wealth and exposure to media-based family planning messages were found to be significantly associated with unmet need for family planning among married women.
There were significant differences in unmet need for family planning based on a woman's age, number of children ever born, wealth level, and exposure to media-based family planning messaging. Improving access to family planning messages and addressing underlying structural factors that improve the wealth status, particularly among young women, may help to reduce unmet need for family planning in Zambia.
在撒哈拉以南非洲，已婚女性对计划生育的需求未得到满足仍然是一个公共卫生问题。2018 年，赞比亚每五名已婚女性中就有一名对计划生育的需求未得到满足。计划生育需求未得到满足有可能增加意外怀孕和不安全堕胎的数量。这些因素会增加处于生育高峰期的育龄妇女的比例，使她们面临更高的分娩并发症风险。因此，本研究旨在根据最近的横断面数据，了解赞比亚已婚女性计划生育需求未得到满足的决定因素。
本研究分析了从 2018 年进行的具有代表性的横断面赞比亚人口与健康调查中提取的数据。分析对象是 7598 名年龄在 15-49 岁之间的目前已婚女性。使用多变量逻辑回归检查赞比亚计划生育需求未得到满足的决定因素。分析结果进行了加权处理，以考虑到复杂的样本设计。
赞比亚的计划生育需求未得到满足的比例仍然很高，为 20%。与 15-24 岁的女性相比，25-34 岁和 35-49 岁的女性总计划生育需求未得到满足的可能性较小（AOR=0.61；95%CI 0.47，0.78）和（AOR=0.63；95%CI 0.45，0.86）。女性的年龄、生育次数、家庭财富和接触基于媒体的计划生育信息与已婚女性计划生育需求未得到满足显著相关。
基于女性年龄、生育子女数、财富水平和接触基于媒体的计划生育信息，计划生育需求未得到满足的情况存在显著差异。改善计划生育信息的获取途径，并解决改善财富状况的潜在结构性因素，特别是在年轻女性中，可能有助于减少赞比亚计划生育需求未得到满足的情况。
