Uptake of Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives and Its Associated Factors among Adolescent Girls Aged 17-19 Years at Gatundu Kenya Medical Training College, Kiambu County

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) has shown that fertility regulation and pregnancy prevention is one of the twenty-first century's most important healthcare issues, evidenced by many adolescent abortions and yearly births globally. In developing countries, few girls engage in long-term reversible contraceptive care. The objective is to determine uptake of long-acting reversible contraceptives among teenage girls aged 17-19 years at Gatundu Kenya Medical Training College, Kiambu County. An analytical cross-sectional study design was utilized. A purposive sampling method was used to select the institution, while stratified sampling was adapted to select a sample of 238 subjects. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics via the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Chi-square tests and Multi-variate logistic regression analysis were applied to assess factors associated with the uptake of long-acting reversible contraceptives among adolescent girls aged 17-19 years in Gatundu Medical College. Majority of the respondents (65.8%) had not used any contraceptive, and 9.2% of respondents were using long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs). Regarding respondents' knowledge of LARCs, 39% of the study respondents had a moderate level of knowledge, 33.3% had a low level, and 27.7% had a high level of knowledge of LARCs. The association between the level of knowledge of LARCs and uptake was found not to be statistically significant (chi-square =2.125, df=2, p-value =0.346). The sources of the decision to use LARCs, myths, and social class/grouping were significantly associated with the uptake of LARCs (P value 0.029). At the same time, religion, misconceptions, and Culture were statistically insignificant. In conclusion, utilization of LARCs was low, with only 9.2% of the participants reporting using them. The researcher, therefore, recommends full disclosure and discussion of LARCs, the types of LARCs'-: benefits, and the adverse effects on nurses and gynecologists. Information, education, and reproductive health integration into training programs are recommended to the curriculum developers. Deploy a Multi-sectoral strategy on contraceptives that involves the ministries of education, gender, and health to increase the uptake of LARCs. In particular, strategies should be explored to enable youths to access and use LARCs at their points of use.