Determinants Impacting the Use of Family Planning Services in Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital, Kabarole District, Western Uganda

This study aimed to explore the factors influencing the utilization of family planning services among women of reproductive age at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital in Kabarole, Uganda. Employing a descriptive cross-sectional hospital-based design and a simple random sampling technique, 174 women in the reproductive age group were included in the study. Self-administered questionnaires were utilized for data collection, which was then coded, entered, and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20. The results were presented in frequency and percentage charts and tables, accompanied by Pvalues, odds ratios, and their respective confidence intervals where relevant. The findings revealed that 44.91% of participants at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital in Western Uganda used contraceptives. Among them, 66.7% discussed contraceptives with their partners, while 51.1% opted for a specific contraceptive method during their last sexual encounter prior to the study. Interestingly, 35.1% considered condoms to be the most effective form of contraception, followed by implanon and oral pills at 14.9% and 14.4%, respectively. Safe days/withdrawal and injectable contraceptives were perceived as the least effective at 10.9% each. Accessibility and availability were cited as primary reasons for contraceptive choice by 21.8% of respondents, followed by safety with fewer side effects (16.1%), ease of use (6.3%), and affordability (5.2%). Household size, with the majority having 1-5 members (36.8%), and the number of children under five in the family (45.4% with 1-5 children) were notable demographic factors influencing family planning choices. However, the study highlighted a low level of family planning utilization (44.9%) among women at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital, predominantly favoring male condoms (40.7%). This utilization was significantly affected by socio-demographic factors such as marital status, place of residence, occupation, and income levels. Furthermore, the type, duration, frequency, availability, accessibility, affordability, and perceived side effects or effectiveness of contraceptives significantly influenced the likelihood of family planning utilization. Keywords: associated factors, utilisation, family planning, women