Adherence to Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy among Women of Reproductive Age (15–49 Years) in Kilifi County, Kenya
| dc.contributor.author | Supaki, Esther Kadzo | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-03-13T08:34:35Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-03-13T08:34:35Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025-11 | |
| dc.description | A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of a Master of Public Health Degree (Reproductive Health) in the School of Health Sciences of Kenyatta University, November 2025. Supervisors 1. Dr. Isaac Owaka 2. Dr. Redempta Mutisya | |
| dc.description.abstract | Healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy refer to a tactic of planning families that enables delaying, limiting or spacing pregnancies. Globally, about 25% of births occur with shorter intervals and about 21million underage pregnancies and 12 million underage births are reported yearly in developing countries with most of them from Sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya 2 out of 10 girls less than 18 years are either pregnant or have given birth. In Kilifi County, about 19.6% of births do not adhere to the 24 months birth-interval being and report about 28.6% teenage pregnancies. The study aimed at establishing factors associated with adherence to healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy (HTSP) among reproductive age women in the County of Kilifi. The study’s specific objectives were to determine the proportion of women adhering to healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy, level of knowledge, socio-demographic, socio-cultural and accessibility factors associated with adherence to HTSP. The research adopted an analytical descriptive cross-sectional design of study using quantitative data collection methods. The study was done in two selected sub-counties with respondents picked systematically at a specified interval of 3. A sample size of 293 women of reproductive age selected from households with children less than 24 months of age from villages in Sokoke Ward in Ganze and Tezo Ward and Kibarani Ward in Kilifi North sub-counties respectively. All the required approvals from relevant institutions were obtained and signed consent from respondents. Quantitative data were collected utilizing semi-structured questionnaires from women of reproductive age (15-49 years). Data was analyzed and managed through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 29.0). Presentation of results was through graphs, tables and charts. Chi-Square tests were used to perform inferential statistics at a confidence interval of 95% and an error of precision allowed at 0.05 to predict variable associations. Logistic regression analysis was done to ascertain the strength of the relationship between variables. The results revealed that 60.1% of respondents adhered to the WHO recommended HTSP. About 69.4% pregnancies occurred on or after 18 years, 67.1% within the recommended 24-month inter-birth interval and 58.9% had pregnancies 6 months after a miscarriage or abortion. Approximately 42.3% of respondents had above average knowledge on HTSP. The predictors of HTSP were; socio-demographic variables such as age (AOR=6.47, p=0.001) and marital status (single; AOR=0.43, p=0.025; divorced/widowed/separated; AOR=0.1, p=0.001); socio-cultural variables such as feeling embarrassed talking about HTSP (AOR=0.3, P=0.007), early marriages (AOR=1.16, P=0.013) and many children being a sign of marriage stability and acceptance (AOR=1.34, P=0.035) and accessibility variables such as availability of family planning (AOR=0.28, P=0.001) and perceived experience with healthcare providers (AOR=0.37, P=0.023). The study concludes that about 4 out of 10 women of reproductive age in Kilifi County did not adhere to the recommended HTSP. The study recommends the Ministry of Health and relevant stakeholders to provide educational programmes on delaying sexual debut to curb early pregnancies, emphasize on use of FP especially among sexually active single, divorced and separated women; provide and scale up health education and sensitization activities focusing on adherence to interbirth-to-pregnancy interval, delaying first pregnancy to at least 18 years and at least 6 months after a miscarriage or abortion; empower community health workers to conduct outreaches emphasizing on the methods and benefits of observing HTSP to improve their overall knowledge; interventions to influence cultural beliefs affecting reproductive health decisions of women focusing on discouraging early marriages and having many children and provide mobile clinics to reach more women in remote areas and concentrate on regular continuous medical education sessions to increase availability and access to family planning services and perceived experience with healthcare providers thus improved adherence to HTSP. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/32737 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Kenyatta University | |
| dc.title | Adherence to Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy among Women of Reproductive Age (15–49 Years) in Kilifi County, Kenya | |
| dc.type | Thesis |