TY - RPRT AU - Ejembi, Clara Ladi AU - Dahiru, Tukur AU - Aliyu, Alhaji A. CY - Rockville, Maryland, USA TI - Contextual factors influencing modern contraceptive use in Nigeria T2 - DHS Working Papers No. 120 PB - ICF International PY - 2015 UR - http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/WP120/WP120.pdf AB - Background: Despite the acknowledged health and socioeconomic benefits of use of modern contraceptives, their use in Nigeria remains persistently low, with wide variations in pattern of use. Given Nigeria’s commitment to doubling her contraceptive prevalence within four years, it is imperative to investigate the mediating role of contextual factors in influencing contraceptive behavior, for more responsive programming. This study therefore aims to assess the role of contextual factors in determining use of modern contraceptives in Nigeria. Methods: A multilevel modeling was carried out using data from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) among women age 15-49. The weighted sample used in the analysis comprised 13,835 women of reproductive age who were married, fecund and did not desire a child within two years of the study, drawn from 904 clusters (enumeration areas) across the country. The clusters were taken as representative of communities. The outcome variable used in the modeling was current use of modern contraceptives. Results: Overall, individual and community level variables accounted for 82% of the variations in contraceptive use in Nigeria. Positive community-level predictors of contraceptive use level were the level of female autonomy, female education and access to health facilities within the community. Conversely, communities with higher proportions of Muslim and higher proportions of polygynous marriages negatively predicted use of modern contraceptives. Also, compared with the South West Zone, all the other zones of the country except the South Zone had significant lower odds of contraceptive use. Poverty and rural residence had no significant effect on use of modern contraceptives. Conclusion: Individual and community characteristics were significant predictors of use of modern contraceptives in Nigeria and thus these factors should be taken into account in programming for family planning in the country. N1 - For assistance using downloaded citations from The DHS Program, please visit http://dhsprogram.com/publications/Citing-DHS-Publications.cfm. The DHS Working Papers series is a prepublication series of papers reporting on research in progress that is based on Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data. This research is carried out with support provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through The DHS Program (#AID-OAA-C-13- 00095). The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. ER -