Knowledge and factors influencing long-acting reversible contraceptives use among women of reproductive age in Nigeria: version 3; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations

Background: Approximately 48% of unintended pregnancies occur as a result of contraceptives failure around the world, which is mostly due to incorrect use, poor adherence, and/or technology failure. Long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods have been developed to close this gap. The main aim of this study is to identify factors associated with the use of LARCs among women of reproductive age and to examine the relationship between knowledge of LARCs and the current use of LARCs in Nigeria. Methods: This study assessed the PMA2020 methodology and secondary dataset using female datasets from PMA 2016 (Round 3) exercise. The survey was conducted out in seven states of Nigeria. The target population for this study was women of reproductive age (15-49 years) currently using contraception prior to the survey. The sample size of women that met the inclusion criteria was 1927. The data were analyzed using frequency distribution, chi-square, and logistic regression at a 5% level of significance. Results: The results showed that 21.0% of women were using traditional methods. 14.8% of the sampled women were using LARCs methods. Findings further showed that at both levels of analyses, there is a significant relationship (P