Premises and Rationale of Contraceptive Services Accessing in Southern Ethiopia: A Phenomenological Exploration.

Abstract

Background

Despite the encouraging engagements of the government and health workers in the provision of contraceptive services in Ethiopia, there are limited documents revealing the knowledge and experiences of the health service providers, health leaders and the beneficiaries about the premises and rationale for accessing contraceptive services. Therefore, the study was conducted with the aim of exploring health care providers and user’s lived experiences under which premises/rationale is the service being given.

Methods

Interpretative phenomenological qualitative methodology was employed to explore the lived experiences of health service providers, managers and service user women. Data were collected using focus group discussions and key informant interview. Data were analyzed using an interpretive phenomenological analysis framework including phases of data immersion, transcribing, coding, theme development and phenomenological interpretation through hermeneutic circle.

Result

The study captured enabling context for contraceptive service provision and use from various rationales, organization and expansion of contraceptive services to the community and households. The finding indicated that contraceptive service provision from the demographic, socio-economic perspectives understood adequately all in the hierarchies but the human right based rationale was less obvious except at higher level health leaders.

Conclusion

The study concludes that the premises/rationale for contraceptive services provision from the bigger picture for providing contraceptive services, the human right approach, remained elusive as one moves down to the hierarchies in health care organizations. On the other hand, the demographic, economic and health rationales are more obvious. Hence, the study recommends the disconnect in the broader premises of providing contraceptive services (the human rights approach) has to properly be communicated to the lower level health managers, service providers and service users. 

Key words: Demography, Economy, Human rights, Contraception, Phenomenology, Rationale