| dc.description.abstract | Since independence, Kenya's population has been increasing rapidly, due to its persistently high growth rate. Despite a drastic decline of its mortality rate, due to improving socio¬economic conditions including the development of the public and private medical facilities and services, its fertility rate has all along remained high, hardly responding to these positive changes.
The persistent high fertility rate in the face of declining mortality rate, has led to population explosion, amid under-development, increased poverty, environmental degradation, land fragmentation and its shortage among other problems. In the midst of these problems, the government and the NGOs have tirelessly implemented, encouraged and led in family planning campaigns with an aim of reducing the fertility rate. As a result, there has been increased awareness of family planning services and their usefulness in fertility regulation.
Despite these sound efforts, contraceptive use as a means to solving the population explosion problem has remained significantly low in many parts of the country. It is difficult to comprehend why such a sad demographic trend continues to exist, and even why the people do not use contraceptives to reduce their fertility for their own welfare.
This study set out to find out how selected socio-economic and socio-cultural factors influence women's use of contraceptives, as a means of fertility control. The study focussed on married and exposed women aged between 15 and 49 years old in Kisii District, Kenya.
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Using multi-stage sampling method that involved cluster and simple random sampling
techniques, 144 women were selected as respondents in the study.
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Primary data were obtained using a questionnaire that was administered to these respondents. The selected socio-economic variables were; the level of education, occupation, level of income and place of residence. The socio-cultural variables were; the current family size, desired family size, sex preference, and religious affiliation. These variables were related to the women's contraception behaviour. To test the study'S hypotheses, descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation and chi-square test were used.
The main results of the study were that the respondents' level of education, their occupations and current family size positively influenced their use of contraceptives. All the other variables did not significantly influence contraceptive use among the women sampled. Of the socio-economic variables, those related to the woman, rather than those related to her spouse tended to positively influence contraceptive use.
On the other hand, only current family size among the socio-cultural variables influenced contraception. Also, it was found that contraceptive use rate had increased to 79.2%. However, it was only used to space births rather than for the primary objective of any family planning programme (i.e. birth control or limitation).
It was conclusive that the respondents' current family size, their level of education and occupation positively influenced and accounted for differentials in their contraception behaviour. Most of them contracepted irrespective of their spouses' level of education, occupation, both the respondents' and spouses' level of income, desired family size, sex preference, place of residence and their religious affiliation.
Thus, the deliberate efforts focussed on the women's socio-economic development and their general empowerment has led to increased contraception in the area, regardless of the men's and community's negative influences. As such more development aimed at raising the statuses of women will lead to a further increase in the use of contraceptives in the study area.
In light of these findings, it was recommended that there is need for a deliberate promotion of women's statuses through increased provision of education and better jobs, legislation of their rights and official and practical encouragement of equality and equity which lead to women empowerment will increase contraceptive use. Also, the provision and better distribution of family planning services, especially spreading them into areas where they are non-existent or scarce is needed to facilitate contraceptive use.
There is also need for more researches on contraception because its determinants vary, apart from affecting couples and communities differently. Therefore, to effectively understand
contraception trends in Kenya, its trends in various communities need to be understood first, | en |
