A new Makerere University School of Public Health study has revealed that the majority of adult Ugandans lack adequate fertility awareness, affecting their decisions on family planning choices.
Dr Simon Peter Kibira offered further insights of the survey conducted within Buyende, Mbale and Mukono districts on male and female participants ranging between 15-49 years.
Results showed that nearly half of women and less than half of men surveyed could accurately identify when a woman is most likely to become pregnant.
The research additionally compared Buyende with the lowest contraceptive use rate in Uganda, and Mbale with highest usage rate at current.
Summary statistics indicated that 374 women and 224 men were included; whereas 2020 UBOS/SOPH/MOH report mentioned around one quarter of married females nationwide had an unmet requirement for family planning measures.
Adoption of such solutions as moon beads for home countability, self-injectable medications (Sayana press) plus continuous replenishment routes for oral contraceptive management can drive improved confidence and accessibility to services among users .
The World Health Organization (WHO) has been recommending countries to adopt methods that women can easily use at home without strict supervision by health workers.
Kibira says these methods can’t be opted for if people are not aware of what is available and how they can be used.
Apart from awareness, the researchers also tested the usage of family planning methods and access where the majority of the respondents preferred mobile access to information and supplies.
Women were specifically more interested in having self-care methods delivered nearest to them either through community health workers, nearby drug shops, or as they access other services in the health facilities.
The researchers also tested whether family planning services can be sought alongside HIV care and according to another researcher Dr. Joseph Matovu, they realized the need for integration of these services to increase uptake of modern contraceptives.
He says they went to seventeen high HIV prevalence districts where they surveyed eighteen health facilities but only three of the HIV clinics also offered contraceptives despite this being recommended. Facilities attributed this to staff shortages and constant stock-outs of supplies.
Commenting on the findings, Dr Richard Mugahi, the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Reproductive and Infant Health in the Ministry of Health said the results have come in handy when the government is updating the self-care guidelines.
He said the challenges of access and awareness are key in the guidelines which will be approved by the end of this year. Meanwhile, WHO has already put in place a framework on self-care guiding countries on what needs to be in place for the approach to work.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Secretary-General says Self-care must work as an extension of the health system so that while people are using self-care interventions, they can also access the health system and community support for further assistance when needed.
“It is also important that self-care occurs in a safe and supportive environment, to avoid the stigma, violence, and negative health outcomes that can often occur when seeking care in isolation”, he said at the launch of the framework.