Amman, Aug. 3 (Petra) -- A study released by the Higher Population Council (HPC) in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) highlighted geographic and social disparities in the use of family planning methods in Jordan, identifying education, economic status, nationality, location and access to health services as key factors influencing reproductive health decisions.
The findings were unveiled during a meeting held Monday to launch the study, which examined differences between users of modern and traditional family planning methods and those with unmet needs, with the aim of supporting targeted interventions that improve equitable access to services.
HPC Secretary-General Issa Masarweh said the study reflects a rights-based approach focused on strengthening couples' ability to make their own reproductive decisions. He said reproductive health policies and programs are important for supporting development and improving primary health care.
Masarweh said the study found geographic and social disparities in the use of modern and traditional family planning methods across governorates, with unmet need reaching 10.8% nationally and rising to 23.6% in Mafraq. He said the rates also varied by education level and economic well-being.
Loai Abu Samour, head of the study's research team, presented its findings during the meeting. The results showed that education, broader economic empowerment, location, nationality, age, reproductive preferences, number of living children, spousal discussion of decisions and quality of interaction with the health system emerged as the most significant factors influencing family planning decisions.
On education, the study found that higher education levels were associated with a markedly greater likelihood of using any family planning method, modern or traditional.
On economic factors, women in higher wealth brackets were more than one-and-a-half times as likely to use family planning methods, modern or traditional, compared with women in lower brackets.
Nationality also emerged as a significant factor, the study found. Syrian women were about 30% less likely to use modern methods compared with Jordanian women, while unmet need was about 40% higher among Syrian women and women of other nationalities.
The study attributed these differences to overlapping cultural and social factors, reproductive preferences and the multifaceted experience of displacement.
The study also found a clear relationship between the number of living children and the ideal number of children preferred by women in Jordan, which affects the use of family planning methods, particularly modern ones.
The number of living children was among the most significant factors influencing method use: women with four to six children were about three times more likely to use family planning methods than women with zero to three children, with the likelihood rising further among women with seven or more children.
Regarding age and age at marriage, the study found that use of traditional methods rises as women get older, particularly among those over 40, as well as among those who married before age 20.
Modern methods, by contrast, showed higher use rates among younger women, especially those who married between ages 20 and 24. The study also found that the likelihood of unmet need being met increases with age, reaching its highest level among women 40 and older, while marrying at a later age was linked to lower chances of unmet need being met.
The findings showed clear disparities between regions and governorates. Mafraq, Karak and Ma'an recorded the lowest rates of modern method use, with women in Mafraq more than twice as unlikely to use modern methods compared with women in Amman.
On unmet need, women in the southern region were found to be nearly half as likely to have their needs met compared with the central region, while women in rural areas were about 20% less likely to have their needs met compared with urban areas.
The study recommended updating legislation and policies to align with international human rights standards, with a focus on the most vulnerable groups, and effectively integrating family planning into universal health coverage.
It also called for strengthening the health system by addressing infrastructure gaps and providing qualified staff, particularly in governorates with low usage rates such as Ma'an and Mafraq, as well as in rural areas and areas with high refugee concentrations, and for unifying and integrating service packages across levels of care.
The study further recommended investing in human resources by strengthening the midwifery profession, increasing the number of qualified midwives, developing their counseling and guidance skills, ensuring equitable workforce distribution, and strengthening professional development programs for family planning service providers.
It also called for enhancing community and digital approaches by activating the role of community health committees as sustainable mechanisms to support reproductive health, alongside regular training programs and approved educational tools.
Health Ministry Secretary-General for Primary Health Care and Epidemics Riyad Shiyab said the ministry continues to develop and expand reproductive health services within the primary health care system. He said the ministry operates 595 health centers across the kingdom that provide a range of services, including maternal and child health and family planning.
Shiyab said family planning services are part of the basic health services package in the public sector and are provided free of charge at Health Ministry centers. He said a wide network of partners works alongside the ministry, which remains the main provider of modern family planning methods.
UNFPA representative in Jordan Himyar Abdulmoghni said the study's importance goes beyond the figures and indicators it presents, lying instead in the analysis behind those numbers and their translation into knowledge that supports decision-makers and guides national policies, programs and priorities. He said the fund will continue supporting efforts to link evidence to national plans and strengthen equitable health responses.
//Petra// NQ
