FAMILY PLANNING NEEDS OF PERSONS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT IN IBADAN AND OSOGBO, NIGERIA

Objective: This study assessed the family planning (FP) needs of persons with hearing-impairment (PHI) in Ibadan and Osogbo, Nigeria. Study design: This descriptive cross-sectional study assessed the FP needs of hearing-impaired persons in Oyo and Osun States, Nigeria. Result: More respondents (62.2%) in Ibadan and (69.3%) in Osogbo have heard of the term MFPM. Male condom 51.2% in Ibadan and 50.0% in Osogbo and female condom (32.9% in Ibadan and 43.5% in Osogbo) topped the list of contraceptives known by respondents in both sites. More respondents (97.6% (Ibadan) and 95.4% (Osogbo) had poor knowledge of MFPM with overall mean scores of 1.02±0.155 and 2.49±1.57 on using a 10-point scale in both sites. More (52.4% in Ibadan and 50.9% in Osogbo) had negative perception of MFPM in both sites with the overall mean perception scores using a 10-point scale of 1.48±0.50 and 5.65±2.30. More 82.9% (Ibadan) and 87.7% (Osogbo) of the participants had a positive attitude toward MFPMs with overall mean attitude scores using a 10-point scale of 14.45±3.42 and 14.92±3.14 at both sites. More respondents (61.8% in Ibadan and 55.9% in Osogbo) agreed that they ‘ever utilized anything or made any effort to postpone/prevent getting pregnant’. More than a quarter said that they are not using any method to delay/avoid getting pregnant. Conclusion: The results of this study show that there is an urgent need for intervention to help correct the observed gap in MFPM utilization among the study population