Unmet Need for Sexual and Reproductive Health Services| Results from the 2013 Liberia Demographic and Health Survey

• Main Author: Sobiech, Kathleen L.
• Language: EN
• Published: Indiana University 2017
• Subjects: Health sciences|Sub Saharan Africa studies
• Online Access: http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10605446

<p> Although the association between poor sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and sociodemographic indicators has been explored in many resource-poor settings, limited information exists specific to Liberia. The two studies in this document seek to describe unmet need for SRH services using three critical indicators of SRH services: knowledge of HIV status (sexual health); use of skilled provider for antenatal care and delivery (reproductive health); and use of modern contraception when there is a desire to limit or space reproduction (family planning). Data from Liberia&rsquo;s 2013 Demographic and Health Survey (LDHS) was used to summarize individual-level profiles according to key sociodemographic and sexual health characteristics for sexually active women and men aged 15-49 (N_women=7,787; N_men=3,426). Frequency distributions from log-binomial regressions show the prevalence of unmet need for sexual health services for women is 51.9% and 72.8% for men; 39.7% for reproductive services (women only); and prevalence of unmet need for family planning is 70.7% for women and 76.1% for men. Results show wide disparities in unmet need for sexual health services by wealth and educational attainment for both men and women. Differences in unmet need for reproductive services were disparate based on educational attainment, wealth, and urban/rural residence. Although the unmet need for family planning is high, the disparities among subgroups is not as dramatic as other unmet needs. Results indicate the need to evaluate the gaps between national policy and service utilization with special attention to subgroups with a high-burden of unmet need.</p><p>