Unmet Need for Family Planning Service and Associated Factors Among Homeless Women of Reproductive Age Group in Jimma Zone Administrative Towns, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background

The majority of homeless women (75%) do not wish to have or delay a pregnancy during this difficult time, yet many do not use contraception in developing countries. In Ethiopia, there is limited evidence of unmet need for family planning in settings where homelessness is on the increase. This study aims to assess the unmet need for family planning services among homeless women and identify associated factors in Jimma Town, southwestern, Ethiopia.

Methods

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on May 3rd and 4th, 2021. The complete enumeration was done to include 206 homeless women. Epidata version 3.1 data entry and exported to SPSS version 20 were used for analysis. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regressions were used to identify factors associated with the unmet need for family planning. Associated factors were determined by a 95% confidence interval of AOR and P-value <0.05 in the multivariable model.

Results

The unmet need for family planning among homeless women was 47.3% [95% CI (38.2, 49.7)]. Being with a disability; [(AOR: 4.10, 95% CI (1.73–9.56), visited by a health care provider in the last 12 months; [(AOR: 0.25, CI (0.09–0.65)], and a number of living children; [(AOR: 0.42, CI (0.18–96)] were significantly associated with an unmet need for family planning.

Conclusion

The unmet need for family planning methods among homeless women was high compared to the national standard of unmet need for family planning, being with a physical disability, visited by a health care provider in the last twelve months, and having a number of living children contributed to the unmet need for family planning. Therefore, health care professionals should focus on providing health education on family planning among these women at the grass-root level to reduce the unmet need for family planning among these women.

Keywords:

• unmet need
• contraceptive use
• reproductive-age women
• homeless
• Jimma
• Ethiopia

Abbreviations

DHS, Demographic and Health Survey; EDHS, Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey; ETB, Ethiopian Birr; FP, family planning; IUD, intrauterine devices; SNNP, Southern Nation and Nationalities Peoples; SPSS, Statistical Package of Social Science; STI, sexually transmitted disease; WHO, World Health Organization.

Data Sharing Statement

Data will be available upon request from the corresponding author.

Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

Ethical clearance for conduct was obtained by Jimma University Institute of Health's Institutional Review Board. At the initial stage of data collection, informed oral and written consent was taken from homeless women whose participation was voluntary, and they had the right to withdraw at any time from the study by protecting their health, confidentiality and rights. Written consent and assent from the guardian for those under eighteen were taken from the study participants after a detailed explanation of the aim of the study before data collection. There is no human rights violation, and our study complies with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Acknowledgments

We are impressively thankful to Jimma University for the financial support provided for the work of this paper. We are also grateful to study participants and data collectors, in particular for their cooperation and the information they provide. Last but not least, appreciation goes to colleagues and friends for their encouragement and support for the work of this paper.

Author Contributions

All authors equally contributed to this work beginning from the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis, and interpretation. Authors of this work took part in the drafting, revising, and/or critically reviewing of the article and finally agreed on the journal to which the article was submitted. All authors also reviewed and agreed on all versions of the article before submission, during revision, and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors declare that they have no competing interests in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by Jimma University, Ethiopia, and the funder had no interference with the conduction, analysis, and publication process.