The effects of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on access to family planning services by women of childbearing age in Harare, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Objectives: The research aimed to assess the effects of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on access to family planning services by women of childbearing age in Harare, Zimbabwe

Materials and methods: The study used a cross-sectional explanatory research design to assess the effects of lockdown restrictions on access to family planning services by women of childbearing age in Harare, Zimbabwe. A multi-stage cluster sampling was used to select the study respondents, who were women of childbearing age. The researcher used a structured questionnaire to collect information electronically from a sample of 384 women of childbearing age in Harare between December 2021 and January 2022. Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) was used to analyse the data. The researcher used descriptive statistics to determine the percentage of women who accessed family planning services during the COVID-19 lockdown period. In addition, inferential statistical analysis was used to assess whether there was any significant difference in the level of satisfaction, comfortability, and accessibility of the family planning services by women of childbearing age before the lockdown and during the lockdown.

Results: Data analysis revealed that the COVID-19 lockdown greatly affected access to family planning services. The results revealed decreased levels of satisfaction and “comfortability” with the family planning services women were receiving as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion: These results revealed that there is a need for the government to offer resources such as equipment to support mobile clinic services and to provide suitable personal protective equipment to the health workers during pandemics.