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Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 2, No. 3 May-June 2023 

 

 

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Reachability and Uptake of Modern Contraceptives among 

Spouses in Kogi State, North-Central Nigeria 

 

By 

Edward Ukwubile Egwuaba and Sunday Blessing Adeyi 

 

 

Abstract 

This study investigated the reachability and uptake of modern contraceptives among 

spouses in Kogi State, North-Central, Nigeria. Specifically, amongst others, it 

determined how the level of reachability of modern contraceptives affect the use among 

spouses in Kogi State, and identified those factors that affect the use of modern 

contraceptives among spouses in Kogi State. The study made use of five theories, but 

relied on the rational choice theory in explaining the social phenomena studied. The 

study adopted cross-sectional survey design. Kogi State has a 2016 projected population 

of 4,473,490. However, the population for the study consisted of all spouses of age 18-

49. The study has a sample size of 1067. The instruments for data collection were 

questionnaire, in-depth interviews (IDIs) schedules and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) 

guide. Multi-stage sampling techniques, entailing simple random sampling, systematic 

and purposive sampling techniques, were adopted in the study. The data analysis was 

based on 1,064 questionnaires that were correctly filled and returned by the respondents 

out of the 1067 distributed. A total of 6 IDIs and 12 FGDs were conducted in the study. 

Descriptive statistics like frequencies and percentages were employed in interpreting the 

data, while chi square was used in testing the hypotheses. Results revealed that 50.3% 

of the respondents report non availability of modern contraceptives in their locality 

which affects contraceptives use among spouses in Kogi State. 75.2% of the study 

respondents report that lack of education amongst majority of spouses as well as several 

other determinants like non-accessibility, cost, proximity or distance of clinics from 

their homes and religion and culture of the people account for poor and low use of 

modern contraceptives in Kogi State. Based on the above findings, the study 

recommends that sociologists should educate and create more awareness about the need 

of spouses to use modern contraceptives by organizing programmes that educate and 

keep spouses and reproductive persons well informed. Government should collaborate 

with international bodies and organizations that are capable of providing the required 

healthcare needed by spouses that can provide these services at subsidized rate for 

spouses. If possible, government should incorporate and implement already formulated 

policies that promote free family planning services to rural dwellers. 

Keywords: reachability, modern contraceptives, Kogi State, healthcare, family planning 

 

 



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Introduction 

The growing use of modern contraceptives around the world has given 

spouses the opportunity to control the number of children they give birth 

to, in addition to other tremendous lifesaving benefits. The availability of 

family planning services allows individuals to achieve desired birth 

spacing and family size, and contributes to improved health outcomes for 

infants, children, women, and families (Center for Disease Control and 

Prevention [CDCP, 1999]; Gipson, Koening & Hindin, 2008; Sonfield, 

Hasstedt & Gold, 2014). Access to safe, voluntary family planning is a 

human right. Family planning is central to gender equality and women’s 

empowerment, and it is a key factor in reducing poverty (Guttmacher 

Institute, 2014; Gavin & Pazol, 2016; Lawrence & Mia, 2016). Yet in 

developing regions, an estimated 218 million women who want to avoid 

pregnancy are not using safe and effective family planning methods, for 

reasons ranging from inadequate access to information or services to lack 

of support from their partners or communities (Gavin, Moskosky & 

Cater, 2014). This threatens their ability to build a better future for 

themselves, their families and their communities (Berghella, Buchanan & 

Pereira, 2010). However, despite the campaign on the usefulness of 

family planning in having smaller and healthier family, studies by 

National Population Commission (2009) and Adeleye, Akoria, Shuaib, & 

Ogholoh (2010) indicate that contraceptive use is still low in many 

developing countries, including Nigeria and Kogi State, where only 24 

percent and 8.5 percent of currently married women had used one 

method of contraceptive.  

Different factors such as culture, low education, poverty and poor access 

to contraceptives, among others, have been identified by scholars as 

issues militating against the use of contraceptive methods (Bankole, 

2008). Monjok, Andrea, John, & Essien (2010) argue that the rate is very 

low, despite high rate of sexual activity and wide spread knowledge of 

contraceptive methods particularly among young couples, leading to 

unintended pregnancies and illegal abortions. Though a number of 

studies have been done in some other parts of Nigeria on access and use 

of modern contraceptives among couples of reproductive ages, none has 

been on the availability and use of modern contraceptives among spouses 

in Kogi State. Although the state boasts of about 247 family planning 

clinics, it has the lowest adoption rate within the middle belt region – 

about 11 percent for any contraceptive method, 8.5 percent for modern 

methods. This necessitated the present study in other to fill this gap. 

 



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Statement of the Problem 

The present population of the world is about 7.9 billion people with four-

fifth of them living in the developing societies and keeps increasing by 

90 million annually, with 90 percent of the increase occurring in 

developing societies. This is because population growth rate in developed 

societies is considerably lower than in developing societies. In the past, 

the need for family planning had been rationalised by a significant 

number of women who state a desire to stop childbearing. However, 

because of unmet needs for contraceptives, very little has been achieved 

in aggregate fertility reduction. This trend in the uptake of family 

planning services has not spared Kogi State in general where there is 

large estimated number of births per household (Kogi State Economic 

Empowerment and Development Strategy[KOSEEDS], 2015). Standards 

of living tend to worsen when the rate of population growth exceeds the 

rate of economic growth. At the household level, the high fertility rate 

may be contributing towards depletion of productive resources in the 

society, rising cost of living, ill health, poor nutrition and limited 

educational opportunities, ultimately trapping women and families in 

poverty cycle. Moreover, considering the young age structure of West 

African, the number of women of reproductive age is expected to 

increase population growth and challenges to meet the different needs of 

these people (Nabila, 2014; Adensi-Pipim, Kwafo, & Garchiner, 2016). 

The combination of high fertility and a growing number of women of 

reproductive age sets the stage for continued rapid population growth.  

Objectives of the Study 

Specifically, this study was undertaken to: 

1. Determine the reachability of family planning services in Kogi 

State. 

2. Find out the level of use of modern contraceptives among spouses 

in Kogi State. 

3. Identify factors influencing spouses’ utilisation of family 

planning services in Kogi State. 

Review of Related Literature 

The concept of family planning 

Family planning has attracted attention all over the world due to its 

relevance in decision making, population control and development. 

Samuel (2010) defined family planning as the practice that helps 



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individuals or couples to attain certain objectives such as avoiding 

unwanted pregnancies, bringing about wanted babies at the right time, 

regulating the interval between pregnancies, controlling the time at which 

birth occurs in relation to the ages of parents and determining the number 

of children in the family. Family planning is defined as the ability for 

individuals and couples to attain their desired number of children and 

plan the spacing and timing of their births through use of 

contraceptive methods (WHO, 2013).  

Family planning utilisation across the globe 

Several studies have been carried out throughout the world to examine 

family planning and use among couples and groups. A study carried out 

by Rugendo and Maseno (2015) on assessing utilisation of family 

planning services among women of reproductive age in North Kanyabala 

revealed low usage of contraceptives compared to the national level (53 

percent), and use of services varied in terms of level of education and 

sources of income. Pascal and Ghana Health Services (2014) studied 

factors influencing the uptake of family planning services in the Talensi 

District, Ghana, and the results revealed that 89 percent of respondents 

were aware of family planning services, 18 percent of respondents have 

used family planning services in the past. Similarly, World Health 

Organisation Report (2010) on the statistics of contraceptive prevalence 

in 53 African countries showed that Nigeria has 14.1 percent 

contraceptive prevalence rate, unlike other African countries like 

Mauritius with 75.8 percent, Morocco 63.0 percent, Algeria 61.4 percent, 

Cape Verde 61.3 percent, Egypt 60.3 percent, South Africa 60.3 percent, 

Tunisia 60.2 percent, Zimbabwe 60.2 percent, Namibia and Swaziland 

with 55.1 percent and 50.6 percent respectively.  

Another study by Adinan (2013) on awareness and practices of family 

planning in Wa Municipality of Ghana revealed that 88 percent of 

respondents were generally aware of family planning even though family 

planning practices remained as low as 12 percent. Also, a study by 

RoumiDeb (2010) on knowledge, attitude and practices related to family 

planning methods among the Khasi tribes of East Khasi hills Meghalaya, 

India, showed that the awareness level among Khasi tribe was very high 

but only half of the women adopted family planning. 

Reachability and utilisation of family planning services across Africa 

Many sub-Saharan Africa countries have high rates of unmet need for 

family planning (FP) (Westoff, 2011; Bongaart, & Bruce, 2012) and low 

rates of contraceptive use (Bongaart, & Bruce, 2012). Individuals and 



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couples who want to limit their fertility are often unable to obtain the 

Family Planning methods they need due to numerous barriers (Campbell, 

Nuriye, & Malcolm, 2006). These barriers include high cost, long 

distances, poor distribution, medical restrictions and fear of side effects, 

or even misinformation.  

Although much of the available literature assumes that financial cost is 

the primary factor inhibiting contraceptive use, various studies around 

the world suggest that fear of side effects of FP are more influential in 

decision-making (Campbell, Nuriye, & Malcolm, 2006; Darroch, Gilda, 

& Haley, 2011; Colombia Demographic and Health Survey, 2005; 

Uganda Bureau of Statistics and ORC Marco, 2001; Sedgh, Rubina., 

Akinrinola, & Susheela, 2007). It is estimated that 59 percent of 

unintended pregnancies could be eliminated if method-related reasons for 

non-use were overcome; and fear of side effects is the most commonly 

cited reason for such non-use (Darroch, Gilda, & Haley, 2011).  

The fear of side-effects is also a commonly cited reason for contraceptive 

discontinuation (Bradley, Hilary, & Shane, 2009). Many studies have 

found that while some of these are based on actual health related side 

effects, many fears are based on rumours, rather than personal experience 

(Campbell, Nuriye, & Malcolm, 2006; Schuler, Maria, & Susanna, 1994; 

Cstle, 2003; Rutenberg & Watkins, 1997; Keesera, 2009; Hall, 

Stephenson, & Juveker, 2008; Plummer, Wight, Wamoyi, Hayes, & 

Ross, 2006). A study in Nepal found that side effects were the main 

reasons cited for discontinuing the use of FP and that most people 

received information about FP from mass media (Tuladhar & Marahatta, 

2008). In Nigeria, knowledge of FP is generally high; however, use 

remains low. The main reasons for this lack of FP use include fear of 

complications, lack of understanding of methods and fear of opposition 

from the husband (Obisesan, Adeyemo, & Fakokunde, 1998). Nadia, 

Campbell, & Seema (2012) identified evidence of fear of FP side effects 

among females and males from India, Nepal and Nigeria.  

Furthermore, fear of side effects from hormonal methods among male 

partners has also been found to impact females FP decision-making and 

their fear to use FP (Raine, Jennifer, Cherrie, Sadia, Beth, Hernandez, & 

Harper, 2010). Generally, researches show that spousal communication 

can increase contraceptive uptake and continuation (Bawah, 2002; 

Nzioka, 2002; Sharan & Valente, 2002; Miriam, Kate, Dominik, Brad, & 

Greg, 2012). Moreover, it is clear that spousal discussion and partner 

approval are significant in inducing a woman to use modern 

contraceptives in the Central Terai region of Nepal (Kang, O' Donnel, & 

Sparks, 2010). 



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Utilization of Modern Contraceptives/Family Planning  

Services in Nigeria 

  

Several studies have also been conducted to explore family planning 

services utilisation in Nigeria. Lasisi, Bassey, Ita, & Awoyemi (2014) 

carried out a study on the awareness and utilisation of family planning 

among married women in the traditional core areas of Ibadan, Oyo State. 

Result showed that the utilisation of family planning methods was low 

among married women in OpoYiosa (9 percent) and Ayeye (11.2 

percent), but high in Mapo, Oja-Oba and Inalende with utilisation rates of 

31.5 percent, 29.2 percent and 19.1 percent respectively. Also, 

Obisessan, Adeyemo, & Takokude (1998) studied the level of awareness 

and the rate of family planning method use among women of 

reproductive age in Ibadan, Nigeria, on 1188 married women. Result 

revealed that 94.3 percent were aware of family planning methods, but 

only 12 percent had visited a family planning clinic. Specifically, the 

study found that the awareness of specific method was 82.6 percent for 

condoms, 75.7 percent for oral contraceptives, 75.5 percent for injectable 

contraceptives and 65.5 percent for IUDs, while current use of family 

planning methods was low, with 10 percent using withdrawal, 8.1 percent 

using oral contraceptives, 5.2 percent using IUDs and 4.7 percent using 

condoms. 

In another study by Clifford (1999) on family planning attitudes and use 

in Nigeria, a factor analysis found out that majority of respondents 

reported knowing a contraceptive method (76 percent), only 28 percent 

were currently using one, and fewer than half (47 percent) reported ever 

having used one. Eko, Osonwa, Osuchukwu, & Offiong (2013) in a study 

in Calabar, Southern Nigeria, on prevalence of contraceptive use among 

women of reproductive age pointed out a low prevalence rate of 

contraceptive use of about 21.6 percent.  

Theoretical Thrust 

Rational choice theory was propounded by Adam Smith in the 1700s and 

refers to a set of guidelines that help understand economic and social 

behaviour (Blume & David, 2008). Rational choice theory (RCT) 

theorists believe that most human decisions are based on maximizing a 

person's own benefits, while minimizing that which can hurt the 

individual. Rational choice theory proposes that there are two outcomes 

of two choices regarding human action. Firstly, the feasible region will 

be chosen within all the possible and related action. Second, after the 

preferred option has been chosen, the feasible region that has been 

selected was picked based on restriction of financial, legal, social, 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feasible_region
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feasible_region


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physical or emotional restrictions that the agent is facing. After that, a 

choice will be made based on the preference order (De-Jonge, 2012). 

The theory postulates that an individual will perform a cost-benefit 

analysis to determine whether an option is right for them (Gary, Abigail, 

Frank, 2000). It also suggests that an individual's self-driven rational 

actions will help better the overall economy. Rational choice theory looks 

at three concepts: rational actors, self-interest and the invisible hand 

(Levin & Milgrom, 2004). The basic premise of rational choice theory is 

that the decisions made by individual actors will collectively produce 

aggregate social behaviour. The theory also assumes that individuals 

have preferences out of available choice alternatives. These preferences 

are assumed to be complete and transitive. Completeness refers to the 

individual being able to say which of the options they prefer (i.e. 

individual prefers IUD over vaginal rings, vaginal rings over IUDs or are 

indifferent to both). Alternatively, transitivity is where the individual 

weakly prefers option IUDs over vaginal rings and weakly prefers option 

vaginal rings over oral contraceptive pills, leading to the conclusion that 

the individual weakly prefers IUDs over oral contraceptive pills. The 

rational agent will then perform their own cost-benefit analysis using a 

variety of criteria to perform their self-determined best choice of action.  

Rational choice theory does not claim to describe the choice process, but 

rather it helps predict the outcome and pattern of choice. It is 

consequently assumed that the individual is self-interested or being homo 

economicus. Here, the individual comes to a decision that maximizes 

personal advantage by balancing costs and benefits (Grune-Yanoff, 

2012). Rational choice theory can be viewed in different contexts. At an 

individual level, the theory suggests that the agent (spouses) will decide 

on the action (or outcome) they most prefer. If the actions (or outcomes) 

are evaluated in terms of costs and benefits, the choice with the 

maximum net benefit will be chosen by the rational individual. Rational 

behaviour is not solely driven by monetary gain, but can also be driven 

by emotional motives. 

It is important that in promoting spouses' access and use of modern 

contraceptives, medical/health sociologists as well as service providers 

need to identify such barriers and work with spouses to reduce them. 

Family planning service providers should help spouses to identify these 

barriers and help them to reduce it through counselling and prompt use of 

modern contraceptives. Since every spouse would want to live a healthy 

life, have healthy babies and a balanced family they are likely to take 

action that will help them to avoid the risk of unplanned pregnancies and 

to take necessary intervention so as to manage, plan, and provide for their 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preference


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families adequately, if the benefits are adequately explained to them. The 

above-mentioned model is selected because it best explains the behaviour 

and actions taken by spouses towards accessing and using reachable 

modern contraceptives and its implications on their health. 

Study hypotheses 

The following hypotheses were guide to this study: 

1. Spouses with higher level of education are more likely to utilise 

family planning services than those with lower level of education. 

2. Spouses with higher level of income are more likely to utilise 

modern family planning services than those with lower income 

level.  

Methodology 

This study adopted a multi-stage cluster sampling procedure. This entails 

successive random sampling, systematic and purposive sampling 

techniques for the selection of respondents from communities, wards, 

villages, streets, households and respondents that were involved at the 

services centres in the study. 

In the first stage, Kogi State was purposively divided into three in line 

with the three geo-political senatorial districts. The local governments 

found in the state represents urban and rural. 14 LGAs to be studied were 

then randomly selected in the proportion of 3:6:5 from Kogi Central, 

Kogi-East and Kogi-West senatorial districts respectively based on the 

2006 population census result which reflected the population proportion 

as such. Given a sample size of 1067 respondents, each were assigned 

respectively to urban and rural areas. To achieve this, the researcher used 

a list of the enumerated areas (EAs) in each of the fourteen LGAs 

obtained from the National Population Commission (NPC, 2016), Kogi 

State, alongside with the population result of 2016 projection. In each of 

the LGAs, five percent of the EAs were selected using systematic 

random sampling. Three streets were picked randomly from the EAs 

from where every 5th household was selected for further sampling. 

Samples drawn from each of the fourteen LGAs were determined by the 

proportion of the population of each of the LGA to the overall population 

of the LGAs selected with a view to ensuring evenness of the samples 

drawn.  

The sample size was 1067 drawn from fourteen local government areas 

out of the twenty-one (21) LGAs in Kogi State and from the total number 

of households (495,786) that made up each local government from the 



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selected ones. Due to the scattered habitation arrangement in the rural 

communities, the researcher and his assistants twirled a bottle at the 

market square and whichever direction the neck of the bottle faced served 

as the starting point. Two eligible members in each household were 

purposively selected in each unit taking into account the age variable, 

and any household that did not have persons (respondents) with the 

required characteristics were substituted with another household until the 

desired number of the respondents was achieved. For clearer 

demonstration, the household that had three or more persons within the 

age range, two of them were selected using SRS (balloting).  

Qualitative data was also collected with the use of both In-Depth 

Interview (IDI) guide and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) guide. The IDI 

and FGD helped to explore information on availability and use of modern 

contraceptives among spouses as were expressed by the participants in 

IDI and FGD sessions. The information derived from IDI and FGD 

helped to complement the data collected from questionnaire. For the 

qualitative data, six FGD sessions were conducted in the selected wards 

and villages of urban communities and rural communities. Each session 

was made up of between 6-12 participants, aged 18 to 49 years. To 

achieve this, there were six FGD sessions (one male and one female) in 

the urban and rural communities of Kogi-Central, Kogi-East and Kogi-

West. To select the respondents for the FGD from the two wards that 

represented urban communities, the researcher liaised with the research 

assistants who were residents/indigenes of the selected wards to help in 

selecting the participants for the discussion. Also, to select the 

respondents for the FGD from the villages that represented rural 

communities, the researcher liaised with the research assistants who were 

residents/indigenes of the selected villages to help in selecting the 

participants for the discussion. The participants for the FGD were 

purposively selected putting into consideration their age and sex. The 

researcher facilitated the six IDIs while two of the research assistants 

served as note takers. The six IDI sessions were conducted in locations, 

days, and time chosen by the interviewees. 

 

Findings/Results 

Table 1: Distribution of Respondents’ Socio-Demographic Characteristics 

 

 



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Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2022 



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This current study was carried out in Kogi state, Nigeria. Questionnaires 

were distributed among three regional districts to elicit information for 

this study. Data in Table 1 showed that more than half of the respondents 

were women (59.2%) while men were 40.8%. The reason for this finding 

can be traced to the fact that most often women are readily available and 

easily accessible. The study area is highly populated with the women 

folk, they actively participate in health, community, and religious 

activities; their readiness to participate fully in this study is shown in 

their large representation. Respondents’ age intervals indicated that those 

aged 26 – 33 years were 48.1%, those aged 18-25 years were 27.4%, 

those aged 42-49 years were 14.6% while those aged 34-41 years were 

the least sampled (9.9%). The relevance of this finding showed that those 

within the age interval of 26-33 years are young, are busy occupied with 

the happenings of life and are always ready to partake in activities that 

bring about change and development. Hence, their willingness to 

participate in this study. 

In terms of respondents’ marital status, the information displayed in 

Table 1 showed that those who were married (68.5%) were the highest; 

this is followed by those separated (13.4%). Also, those who were 

widowed were 10.2% while those divorced were 7.9%. The displayed 

data in Table 1 revealed that respondents who had their secondary 

education were 36.7%, those who had obtained their tertiary education 

were 25.4, and those who had their primary education were 21.0% while 

those who had no formal education were 17.0%. This finding revealed 

that citizens of Kogi state have value for education as more than half of 

the respondents either had their primary, secondary or tertiary education.  

Furthermore, results on Table 1 showed that civil servants (43.4%) were 

more in this study. The next to them were those who were unemployed 

(27.3%). Those who were into trading were 12.2%, those who were 

artisans were 8.7% while those into farming were 8.4%. The relevance of 

this finding to this study showed that even if majority of the respondents 

had obtained their primary, secondary or tertiary education, most of them 

still struggled with unemployment.  

Respondents’ monthly income showed that majority (24.2%) of them 

earned between 41,000-60,000 naira. This is followed by those who 

earned 61,000-80,000 naira (22.4%). Those who earned 81,000-100,000 

naira were 19.7%, those who earned 21,000-40,000 naira were 17.2%, 

and those who earned less than 20, 000 naira were 10.3% while those 

who earned above 100, 000 naira were only 6.1%. Two major religions 



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exist in the study area. Results in Table 1 showed the religious affiliation 

of the respondents. The result revealed that respondents who were 

Christians accounted for 59.1% while Islam accounted for 40.9%. On 

family type of the respondents, the results indicated that 68.5% of the 

respondents were involved in monogamy while only about 31.5% 

practised polygamy. This finding showed that most persons in the study 

area are only married to one wife or one husband. 

The study further enquired about the number of children respondents’ 

intended or would love to have. Data in Table 4, 13 showed that slightly 

above half (50.9%) of the respondents desired to have 4 children, 17.1% 

mentioned that they would love to have 3 children, 16.5% said they 

would love to have 6 children and above, 12.8% said they would love to 

have 5 children while only 2.6% of the respondents indicated that they 

would love to have just 2 children.  

 

Figure 1: Distribution of Respondents on reachability of family 

planning services in their locality 

Source: Author's Field Survey, 2022 

The information portrayed in Figure 1 showed responses of the 

respondents on the availability of family planning services in their 

locality. Out of the 1064 respondents utilised for this study, 50.3% of the 

study respondents indicated that their area of location had no available 

family planning services while 49.7% said that they had available family 

planning services in their area. This finding implies that despite the high 

level of knowledge of family planning, majority of the respondents do 

not enjoy these services since it is not available in their locality.  

49.7%

50.3%



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Figure 2: Distribution of Respondents on access to family planning 

services  

Source: Author's Field Survey, 2022 

 

Data in Figure 2 showed that out of the 1064 respondents used for this 

study, 54.5% of the study respondents indicated that they had no access 

to family planning services while 45.5% said they had access to family 

planning services. This finding implies that not everyone in Kogi state 

has access to family planning. The problem with accessing family 

planning services can be traced to distance and locality of the 

respondents. Data from the qualitative study supports this. According to a 

female participant: “The family planning centre is quite far from my 

place of residence and coupled with the hard economic state of things in 

our state, I find it hard making it to the family planning centre for the use 

of the services therein” [Participant: FGD; Female, Kogi-East]. Another 

participant also opined thus: “My place of residence is really far from the 

family planning clinic but I still manage to go there to get and use the 

available services to help in planning and spacing my children so as to 

enjoy good health as well.” [Participant: FGD; Female, Kogi-Central]. 



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Figure 3: Distribution of respondents on current use of modern 

contraceptive method (n=1064) 

Source: Author's Field Survey, 2022 

The study sought to find out if respondents were currently utilizing 

modern family planning method. Data displayed in Figure 3 showed that 

majority (52.5%) said they were not currently utilizing family planning 

methods while 47.5% said they were currently utilizing family planning 

methods.  

 

Figure 4: Distribution of respondents on current modern 

contraceptives been used (n=505) 

Source: Author's Field Survey, 2022 

 



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Data in Figure 4 showed the percentage distribution of respondents’ 

answers to the type of family planning they were currently using. 

Majority (81.2%) of the respondents mentioned that they were currently 

using oral contraceptives, 9.7% said they were using condoms, 5.1% said 

they were using withdrawal method, 2.6% said they were doing periodic 

abstinence, 1.2% said they were using Billings ovulation method while 

0.2% mentioned cervical cap. This finding implies that the commonest 

type of family planning method employed is the oral contraceptives and 

this may be as a result of its high level of safety and its accessibility/cost. 

Table 2: Distribution of Respondents on reasons for choice of family 

planning method 

 

Source: Author's Field Survey, 2022 

Respondents were asked the reasons for their choice of the type of family 

planning method they are using.  Data in Table 2 showed that majority 

(85.4%) of the respondents said the method was suitable and 

effective/reliable, 4.7% said it was affordable, 3.85 said it has little side 

or no side effect, 3.0% said it is readily available, 2.3% said it involves 

their partner’s usage and .8% had no reason for using the family planning 

method they are currently using.   



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Figure 5: Distribution of Respondents on reasons for non-use of 

contraceptive methods 

Source: Author's Field Survey, 2018 

In Figure 5, respondents were asked their reasons for not using family 

planning. Majority (22.6%) of the respondents said it is not easily 

accessible, 20.3% indicated fear, 20.0% said it is expensive, 18.5% said it 

encourages promiscuity, 7.8% said it is against their culture, 6.9% 

mentioned that it is against their religion and 3.9% said it diminishes 

their sexual activity. 

 

Figure 6: Distribution of Respondents on proximity to family 

planning centre from their house 

Source: Author's Field Survey, 2022 



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In Figure 6, respondents were asked the proximity of their family 

planning centres from their houses. Majority (76.6%) of the respondents 

said their family planning centres were not so or very close to their place 

of residences, 11.6% said it was very far from their houses, 7.9% said 

they don’t know, 3.7% said it was far from their house and 0.3% said it 

was very close to their house.  These findings imply that since most of 

the spouses live quite far away from where the very few available family 

planning clinics are located, it makes it cumbersome for spouses and/ or 

couples to access such services. 

Table 3: Distribution of respondents on factors inhibiting the use of 

contraceptives 

 

Source: Author's Field Survey, 2022 

Entries displayed in Table 3 revealed the challenges inhibiting the 

utilization of family planning services by respondents. Out of the 1064 

respondents who were sampled for this study, majority (75.2%) said lack 

of education of spouse(s) inhibits the use of family planning, 11.6% 

mentioned attitude of health workers towards clients, 9.0% said cost of 

services, 2.8% mentioned the age of spouses, 1.1% mentioned culture 

and customs of the people and 0.3% said disapproval from 

husband/religious reason. This finding implies that amidst the numerous 

challenges inhibiting the use of family planning methods, lack of 

education of spouses’ poses more threat.   

 



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Decision Rule:  

In the application of Chi-square (χ2) for the test of hypotheses, the 

following rule was applied: Reject the null hypotheses if the calculated 

value of the test statistics is greater than the table value. 

Hypothesis one 

Null hypothesis (H0):  Spouses with higher level of education are not 

more likely to utilize family planning services than those with lower level 

of education. 

Substantive hypothesis (H1):  Spouses with higher level of education are 

more likely to utilize family planning services than those with lower level 

of education. 

Table 4: Percentage distribution of respondents on utilization of 

family planning by level of education 

 

χ2=47.314, df=1, N=1064, p<.000 

Source: Author's Field Survey, 2022 

To test hypothesis one, the Chi square test result showed that the 

computed χ2 is 47.314 while the critical/table χ2 value is 3.841 and df= 1. 

The test also showed that there is a statistically significant relationship (P 

<.000) between education and the utilization of family planning services. 

From the decision rule, since the chi-squared calculated (47.314) is 

greater than the chi-squared tabulated (3.841) we accept the substantive 

hypothesis which stated that spouse with higher level of education are 

more likely to utilize family planning services than those with lower level 

of education, while the null hypothesis which stated that  spouse with 

higher level of education are not more likely to utilize family planning 

services than those with lower level of education is hereby rejected. 

 



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Hypothesis two 

Null hypothesis (H0):  Spouses with higher level of income are not more 

likely to utilise family planning services than those with lower income 

level 

Substantive hypothesis (H1): Spouses with higher level of income are 

more likely to utilise family planning services than those with lower 

income level  

Table 5: Percentage distribution of respondents on utilization of 

family planning services by income level 

 

χ2=6.795, df=1, N=1064, p< .009 

Source: Author's Field Survey, 2022 

To test hypothesis three, the Chi square test result shows that computed 

χ2 is 6.795 while the critical/table χ2 value is 3.841 and df= 1. The test 

shows that there is a statistically significant relationship (P <.009) 

between income and utilization of family planning services. From the 

decision rule, since the chi-squared calculated (6.795) is greater than the 

chi-squared tabulated (3.841) the substantive hypothesis which states that 

spouse with higher level of income are more likely to utilize family 

planning services than those with lower level of income is hereby 

accepted while the null hypothesis which states that spouse with higher 

level of income are not more likely to utilize family planning services 

than those with lower level of income is hereby rejected. 

Discussion of Findings 

Reachability of Modern Contraceptives/Family Planning Services 

Being informed about a family planning service is good but the 

availability of these services makes it important for respondents to easily 

access these services. Findings from this study revealed that majority 

(50.3%) of the respondents said that family planning services was not 

available in their locality. This finding is in congruent with what Ahmed, 

Shokai, Abduelkhair, and Boshra (2015) found. Concerning the 



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availability of family planning services, people in Jelhak mentioned that 

family planning services do not exist. It was observed that there was only 

one health centre which provides medical services in addition to selling 

pills with very low rates. 

Furthermore, this finding found that a little less than majority (41.8%) of 

the respondents said counselling of clients for appropriateness of 

methods and provision of variety of contraception were the available 

family planning services. This finding has a slight dissimilarity with that 

of Ahmed, Shokai, Abduelkhair and Boshra (2015). According to them, 

women and men in Jelhak and Renk had good knowledge about 

traditional and modern methods of family planning and poor knowledge 

about contraceptives. Injectable contraceptives rated the lowest of all 

while condoms were well known but remains socially unacceptable. 

Utilization of Modern Contraceptives/Family Planning Services 

In terms of the utilization of family planning, majority (54.5%) of the 

said they had no access to family planning services hence they cannot 

utilize it. Also, this study found out that despite the level of awareness of 

family planning services available in Kogi State, majority (58.1%) of the 

respondents said they don’t utilize family planning services. When asked 

the reasons for not utilizing family planning services, majority of the 

respondents said family planning services have harmful health side 

effects while another significant majority said it was against their 

religion. Similar finding by Etokidem, Ndifon, Etowa and Asuquo (2017) 

revealed that 56.0% of their study respondents indicated that their 

religious belief hinders their utilization of family planning services. 

Another striking finding is that 52.5% of the study respondents said they 

were not currently utilizing family planning services. This is in contrast 

to the finding of Ushie, Otu and Undelikwo (2014) in Cross River State. 

Ushie, Otu and Undelikwo (2014) found that 61.3% of their respondents 

were currently using one form of family planning method or another. 

Factors Influencing the Uptake of Modern Contraceptives/Family 

Planning 

Various factors influence the utilization of family planning services. 

From this study, it was found that accessibility, cost, proximity, culture 

and religion were all the reasons why people utilise or do not utilize 

family planning services. Again, FGD from Kogi-East revealed that place 

of residence was an influencing factor for the utilization of family 

planning. According to a participant, “the family planning centre is quite 

far from my place of residence and coupled with the hard economic state 



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of things in our state, I find it hard making it to the family planning 

centre for the use of the services therein”. This finding has similarities 

with that of Gaetano, Lutuf, Zaake and Annika (2014) who, in their 

study, revealed that although most people were aware of the benefits of 

family planning services, they however complained that it was difficult to 

access family planning services because these services were provided by 

health facilities that were far from their homes. Education is a major 

factor in influencing the use of family planning method; majority 

(75.2%) of the respondents indicated that lack of education inhibits the 

utilization of family planning. This Finding is slightly similar to that of 

Apanga and Adam (2015). Apanga and Adam (2015) in their study 

revealed that lack of knowledge and misconceptions about family 

planning have been strongly linked with non-use of family planning 

methods. 

Conclusion 

This study investigated the reachability and use of modern contraceptives 

among spouses in Kogi State, North-Central, Nigeria. The use of modern 

contraceptive is important in preventing maternal and neonatal deaths; 

hence, its availability and accessibility cannot be overemphasized. This 

study provides facts to demonstrate that even though there is a good 

knowledge of modern contraceptive among spouses in Kogi State, it does 

not inevitably increase the reachability and use of modern contraceptive 

since the spouses indicated that they had no access to these services and 

that it was not available. It is therefore crucial to enlighten people on 

where to find these services and how to utilize these services. This will 

help spouses utilize family planning services. Husbands should be fully 

active in family planning decisions. Women should not be made to go 

through this stage alone. Both husband and wife should take decisions of 

family planning services.  To this end, the government, organizations, 

international bodies, community leaders, institutions, health workers and 

the general public should quickly rise to their distinct responsibilities in 

providing relevant information about family planning services.  

Recommendations 

Based on the findings, the researcher recommends the following to guide 

the government, religious leaders, organizations, institutions, health care 

providers, sociologists, all spouses and the general public in addressing 

issues on the reachability and uptake of modern contraceptives. The 

recommendations are: 

 Sociologists should educate and create more awareness on the 



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benefits of utilizing family planning services. This they can do by 

organizing programmes that educate and keep spouses as well as 

couples and reproductive persons informed. 

 Impediments limiting access to and reachability of family planning 

services should be addressed by the state government. This will 

help spouses utilize family planning services and will in turn 

improve their well-being. 

 Government should collaborate with international bodies and 

organizations that are capable of providing the required healthcare 

needed by spouses and that can also provide these services at a 

subsidized rate for couples. If possible, government should also 

incorporate and implement already formulated policies that 

promote free family planning services for rural dwellers.  

 

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Author Information: Dr Edward Ukwubile Egwuaba is a 

lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Chukwuemeka 

Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam, Anambra State, 

Nigeria. Email: edwardegwuaba@yahoo.com 

 

 

Sunday Blessing Adeyi is affiliated to the Department of 

Sociology, Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba, 

Kogi State, Nigeria. Email: sundayblessingadeyi@gmail. 

com 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


