Background
Self-administered DMPA-SC offers opportunities to improve contraception. Injectables have become popular as it offers confidentiality to women. Features of effectiveness, reversibility and relatively long-acting effect add to their popularity. The DMPA-SC self-inject provides privacy and promotes the WHO concept of self-acre by engaging women to provide services outside a clinical setting. Recent studies have shown that the uptake of self-injection is low.
The Society for Family Health, through the Delivering Innovation in Self-Care (DISC) project carried out a qualitative study to examine the determinants of uptake of self-injection among women of reproductive age in Oyo state.
Methodology
The research adopted a qualitative data collection approach, conducting in-depth interviews with early adopters (a mix of self-injectors and those assisted by providers) of the DMPA-SC method. The selection was purposively carried out; targeted at urban youths (18-24 years) and birth-spacing mothers (23-35 years). The urban youths are women who are in the urban area, technological savvy and exposed to the internet while birth-spacing mothers are those in rural communities
Result
A total of 13 users of DMPA-SC were interviewed; 8 were birth-spacing mothers and 7 were urban youths. Eight (8) out of the 13 women were self-injectors while the remaining 5 were those assisted by healthcare providers to take up the method. The findings revealed that fear of needles, fear of incorrect use of the method, and lack of confidence as the major factors limiting uptake of DMPA-SC self-injection. Three of the five women who were assisted by the provider affirm their willingness to try self-injecting subsequently.
