| dc.description.abstract | The concept of unmet need for contraception has for decades remained central to international family planning efforts and a key focus in population programs. This study looked at the socio-economic determinants of unmet need for contraception among rural women in Kenya and utilized data on currently married women of the age bracket 15-49 drawn from the Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS, 1998). The main objective of the study was to investigate the effects of Socio- economic factors on unmet need for contraception among married women of reproductive age (15-49 years) from rural Kenya. The specific objectives looked at the levels and patterns of unmet need for contraception in rural Kenya and further estimated the influence of education and fertility preferences on unmet need for limiting and spacing. Findings from the study show that apart from a woman’s level of education other social economical variables selected for this study, were not very significant in explaining the unmet need for contraception in rural Kenya apart from a woman’s education level. This suggests that other variables not considered in this study are more likely to be more significant in giving an explanation. The study also found that the factors of unmet need cannot be generalized for all regions i.e. rural and urban. It emerged that even if though the education and occupation of a woman are important factors of determining the likelihood for the demand for contraception, this may not in totality apply for both rural and urban regions of residence. The level of significance will vary from region to region. The study further revealed that the desire to limit or space are both a function of age and the number of children ever born and alive and that unmet need for spacing surpasses the unmet need for limiting, thus implying that a large proportion of all currently married women have a higher demand for spacing as opposed to limiting. | en_US |
