Analysis of Urban-Rural Differences in Contraceptive Use Among Married Women in Oyo State

Differential contraceptive prevalence between urban and rural populations reflects unequal access to family planning services and information, and documenting this disparity in Oyo State provides evidence for targeted reproductive health policy. This study analysed urban-rural differences in modern contraceptive use among married women aged 15 to 49 in Oyo State, South West Nigeria. A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted among 400 married women (200 urban from Ibadan North LGA, 200 rural from Atisbo and Oorelope LGAs) using multistage random sampling. Data collected covered current contraceptive method, source of contraception, husband's attitude, decision-making autonomy, and household wealth. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were applied. Urban women showed significantly higher modern contraceptive prevalence (48.5 percent) than rural women (21.0 percent), a difference of 27.5 percentage points (p < 0.001). Injectable contraceptives were the most preferred method in both settings. Urban women reported higher decision-making autonomy regarding contraception (66.5 percent) compared to rural women (32.5 percent). Husband disapproval was cited by 43.0 percent of rural non-users compared to 18.5 percent of urban non-users. Community health worker contact was reported by 61.0 percent of urban women versus 24.5 percent of rural women. Recommendations include expanding community health worker outreach to rural Oyo LGAs, male involvement programmes addressing husband resistance, and deploying mobile family planning clinics to underserved communities across the state. Keywords: contraceptive use, urban-rural differential, Oyo State, family planning, reproductive health