Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research

Background: Implanon is a single rod implant contraceptive with increasing popularity; however, different views have been expressed by women concerning its use.

Aim and Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate family planning client’s perception and acceptance of implanon as a contraceptive method and the factors affecting its uptake.

Study Design/ Methodology: The study used a cross-sectional design consisting of 200 women who visited the family planning clinic of State Specialist Hospital, Akure in Ondo State, Western Nigeria between October and December 2014. Data were collected using self administered questionnaires after obtaining ethical clearance and the clients informed consents. The main outcome measured were awareness of implanon as a method of contraception, source of information about implanon, previous use of implanon and their willingness to accept implanon.

Results: The study showed that 54.5% were in the age bracket of 30-39 years and 96% were married. The majority of the women were educated with only 3.5% having no formal education. About 55% had less than 4 children while 45% had 4 or more children. In addition 60% of the women were Christians, 39% practiced Islam while 1% was of other religion. About 69% of the women were already aware of implanon as a contraceptive method with their health care providers being their major source of information. There was a significant association between awareness of implanon with its usage and the health care providers being the source of their information (X²=6.763, P=0.009 and X² =17.672, P=0.000 respectively). Only 7% of the women had used implanon previously while 24.5% would consider implanon if offered but 75.5% would not. The reasons for this were that insertion and removal could be painful, that it involves a surgical operation and that their husbands may not approve of it.

Conclusion: The study showed increased awareness of implanon among our women but this may not translate into its use due to some misconceptions. The findings therefore suggest that additional strategies may be adopted such as the male partner involvement during counselling in order to enhance its use.