Perception variation on contraceptive use in the Bamenda and Buea communities in Cameroon

Abstract

Women’s unmet need of modern contraceptive in Cameroon has many gender specific health risks and development implications. This paper sought to examine the perceptions variation among men and women towards contraceptive use by employing a mixed method design to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from 248 participants using questionnaires and interview guides. The results showed that 86% of the participants had heard of contraceptives and a lesser proportion (8%) did not know the importance of contraceptives; 67% of respondents indicated that women were in greater need of contraceptives as opposed to 33 % who opined that men needed contraceptives and the relationship between gender perception and contraception use was statistically significant (p-value=0.04). This study contributes to the body of knowledge on contraceptive use and the predictors which may account for its weak uptake and the wide unmet need of contraceptives in African countries like Cameroon.