A Comparative Study of Contraceptive Use among Rural and Urban Women in Osun State, Nigeria

Aims: To compare contraceptive practices among rural and urban women in Osun State, South-western Nigeria.
Study Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study.
Place and Duration of Study: Osun state in southwestern Nigeria. The study was carried out between January and June 2010.
Methodology: One thousand and twenty four women of reproductive age group, including 512 rural and 512 urban women were selected into this study using multistage sampling method. Research instrument used were pre-coded, pre-tested, semi structured interviewer administered questionnaires. Data was analyzed using the SPSS software.
Results: Four hundred and thirteen rural respondents and 475 urban respondents were aware of contraceptives with only 86(16.8%) and 239(46.7%) respectively using a contraceptive method.” Seventeen (3.3%) and 95(18.6%) of rural and urban respondents respectively used their contraceptive methods consistently. Thirty eight (7.4%) and 118(23.1%) of rural and urban respondents respectively used a condom the last time they had sexual intercourse. Mean number of births per woman was 3.4+1.8 births per woman in rural and 2.9+1.5 births per urban woman. Sixty nine (13.5%) of rural and 164(32.0%) of urban respondents had discontinued their contraceptive method at one time or the other. Women with formal education in both locations had about one-half the fertility rate compared to women with no formal education (OR=0.59, 95% CI=0.45–0.95, p=0.001). Similarly, women who used contraceptives in both locations had about one-twelfth fertility rate compared to women not using contraceptives (OR=0.08, 95% CI=0.06–0.12 and p=0.019).”
Conclusion: Awareness and use of contraceptives was higher in urban than rural respondents under study. Fertility was also higher among urban than rural women.