Findings of the 2016 Reproductive Health Survey among Women of Reproductive Age in Kenya

The study population consisted of women between the ages of 15-49 years in rural and urban areas, with a geographical coverage of 47 counties nationwide. The target sample size was achieved with 1090 women aged 15-24 years and 2514 women aged 25-49 years, as well as 649 males. The study employed a cross-sectional quantitative approach, conducted in consultation with the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. The survey population included women and men aged 15-49 years who provided voluntary written informed consent or assent to participate. Males aged 18 years and above who were married to sexually active women aged 18-49 years and had given informed consent were also included, as well as heads of households who met specific criteria. The study objectives were to determine changes in the need and uptake of Family Planning Methods (FPM), factors associated with the uptake of MFPM, and exposure to communication on FPM and its possible association with the uptake of Modern FPM. The study findings focused on unmet need for Family Planning, contraceptive prevalence rate, switching and discontinuation trends, analysis of first use, behavioral factors on uptake of MFPM, communication on uptake of MFPM, and male involvement. The study defined need for FP as currently not pregnant, not wanting to get pregnant in the next two years, and being sexually active. Women with met need were those with a need for FP and using any FP method, while women with unmet need were those with a need for FP and not using any FP method. The study found that 37.9% of women aged 15-19 years, 85.9% of women aged 20-24 years, and 84.2% of women aged 25-49 years were sexually active in 2014. By 2016, these percentages had increased to 81.3% and 85.1% for the 20-24 and 25-49 age groups, respectively. The study also examined the trend of sexual debut amongst 15-19 year olds, with 24.32% reporting sexual debut before the age of 15 in 2014, compared to 13.58% in 2016. The percentage of women aged 15-19 years who reported sexual debut at 15-19 years decreased from 75.7% in 2014 to 70.0% in 2016. The study's findings on unmet need for Family Planning, contraceptive prevalence rate, and other key indicators provide valuable insights into the reproductive health needs of women in Kenya.