The study is titled 'Determinants of contraceptive use among young women in Lesotho'.
Caldwell and Caldwell (2002:80) assert, "The most serious problem with existing subSaharan
family planning programs is their neglect at adolescents' needs". The main objective
of the study is to investigate factors influencing the use of modern contraceptives among
young women (15-24 years old) in Lesotho and to contribute towards improvements in health
care services for adolescents. The study will examine the levels of contraceptive use among
young people in Lesotho, and explore social and demographic factors that promote
contraceptive use. The study is based on the data from 2004 Lesotho Demographic and
Health Survey which is a representative sample.
The study showed that young people have high knowledge of modern methods of
contraceptive (knowledge ranked up to 91 percent) however use of methods is lower (ranked
up to 44 percent). Traditional methods were the least known except for withdrawal which had
a plausible percentage (64.7 percent). Most of sexually active young people have ever used
contraceptives and injectables were the leading method while condoms were the most
generally known. The study also showed that contraceptive use increases with age, level of
education, wealth and discussion of family planning with partner. Results of the logistic
regression analysis, however, showed unexpected results where adolescents' from the rural
areas had a higher likelihood of using contraceptives than those from urban areas. Married
young women had a high level of contraceptive use than those never married. Socio-cultural
context hinders the establishment of reproductive programs on adolescents as their sexuality
is attached to marriage and childbearing. It was recommended that intensive programs
informing young people about their reproductive decision-making is needed. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/2192 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Mabele, Mantoa. |
| Contributors | Nzimande, Nompumelelo. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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