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. 2021 Jan 13;11:1222. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-79103-6

Table 6.

Reported reasons for difficulty accessing family planning.

N % women
Demand-side barriers
Insufficient knowledge about FP or how to access FP 33 14
Feels that healthcare is not needed for this 11 5
Partner feels that healthcare is not needed for this 7 3
Community feels that healthcare is not needed for this 3 1
Obstructive attitudes from family 16 7
Obstructive attitudes from community 8 3
Fear of using FP services, including fear of side effects 8 3
Personal objection to using FP 2  < 1
Male partner approval required to use FP 3 1
Not comfortable with asking healthcare workers about FP 15 6
Other 2  < 1
Supply-side barriers
Cost of transport too high 17 7
Cost of healthcare too high 10 4
Healthcare facility too far away or transport too difficult to access 13 5
Too difficult to get time away from work or home 4 2
FP not provided by healthcare facility, including for religious reasons 12 5
Staff at healthcare facility are not kind or sympathetic 2 < 1
Insufficient supply or long waiting time at healthcare facility 4 2
Did not state any specific barriers 103 43
Total number of responses from 241 women 273

nb denominator for calculation of proportions is 241 women who reported that family planning can sometimes be difficult to access, or who were unsure if family planning was difficult to access: participants could provide more than one reason.