The frequency of using family planning method and affecting factors: Rural – Urban example

Introduction and Objective: The use of family planning methods is important to improve maternal and newborn health. The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of method use among married women aged 15-49 in rural and urban area and to evaluate the factors affecting it. Material and Method: The type of this study is descriptive and cross-sectional, the population of which is married women aged 15-49 living in a village and an urban settlement. 250 volunteers participated in the study, 130 from the rural 120 from the urban area. The data collected with a form that included questions about sociodemographic characteristics, family planning, and factors affecting. Chi-square used to compare categorical variables between groups, and Student-t test used to compare paired groups. Results: 52.0% of the participants lived in rural and 48.0% lived in urban. The mean age is 33.3±8.7 in rural and 36.2±7.6 in urban (min=18-max=49). The rate of using any method is 70.5% in rural and 83.3% in urban; Using traditional methods is 64% in rural, 25.6% in urban; Unmet need is 10.7% in rural, 3.7% in urban; The unmet need for modern method is 54.1% in rural and 25% in urban, and the difference between them found significant. The education level of women and their spouses in rural, age at marriage and first pregnancy, working, having a job, income level, having health insurance, being aware of family planning or receiving education found to be lower than those in urban.The rate of method use found to be high among those aged 35 and above, nuclear family, the number of people in the household 5 and above, the number of living children 4 and above, and those with unwanted pregnancy. Unmet need for modern method found to be high in those who had high school education and below, did not have a job, were not aware of family planning or did not receive education. Conclusion: According to place of residence found the significant difference in terms of method use, unmet need, unmet need for modern, factors affecting.