Level of Patronage of Family Planning Methods Among Married Women - A Study of Awoshie- Market Community.

Abstract

Family planning (FP) is a foundation of public health. It is key to reducing maternal mortality, a means to empower women and foster sustainable development. Despite high awareness of modern contraceptive methods in Ghana, its patronage among married women, particularly in urban-poor communities, remains critically low. This study explored the level of patronage and its determinants among married women in the Awoshie-Market community within the Greater Accra Region. Adopting a Convergent Parallel Mixed-Methods Design, the study used a combination of a quantitative cross-sectional survey of 101 married women with qualitative key informant interviews involving 10 health workers and community leaders. Data was analysed using Descriptive and Inferential statistics (SPSS) for the Quantitative Data and Thematic Analysis for the Qualitative Data. The study revealed a significant difference between awareness and practice - while awareness of methods such as pills was high, only 56.4% had ever used a modern method. The primary barriers were not demographic but socio-relational and perceptual. Fear of side effects was the most significant barrier (72.3% in agreement), followed by spousal disapproval (62.4%). Pervasive misconceptions, including beliefs that FP causes infertility (49.5%) and health issues (67.3%), were amplified by peer networks and religious interpretations. Logistic regression confirmed that demographic factors were poor predictors of use underscoring the dominance of social dynamics. The study concludes that the low patronage of FP in Awoshie-Market is fundamentally an "awareness-acceptance gap" driven by misinformation, gender power imbalances, and systemic service barriers. To bridge this gap, it is recommended that policymakers and practitioners implement multi-faceted interventions which must include strengthening male involvement initiatives; deploying targeted communication in local languages to dispel myths; training healthcare providers in client-centred care; ensuring reliable commodity supply and strategically engage community leaders as FP ambassadors. This evidence-based approach is necessary to increase FP uptake and achieve related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in peri-urban Ghana.