Table 1 Distribution of study participants according to unmet need status among sexually active women
From: Multilevel analysis of factors associated with unmet need for family planning among Malawian women
| Variable | Unmet need – (n = 15,931) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| No (n = 12,581) | Yes (n = 3350) | p-value a | |
| Individual-level factors | |||
| Woman’s age (years) | 0.011 | ||
| 15–24 | 4123 (77.9) | 1172 (22.1) | |
| 25–34 | 5014 (80.6) | 1209 (19.4) | |
| ≥ 35 | 3444 (78.0) | 969 (21.9) | |
| Number of children ever had | < 0.001 | ||
| 0 | 348 (70.4) | 357 (29.6) | |
| 1 | 2221 (80.3) | 546 (19.7) | |
| 2+ | 9512 (79.5) | 2447 (20.5) | |
| Wealth | 0.049 | ||
| Poor | 4918 (77.9) | 1397 (27.1) | |
| Middle | 2432 (79.0) | 649 (21.0) | |
| Rich | 5230 (80.0) | 1304 (20.0) | |
| Marital status | < 0.001 | ||
| Unmarried | 483 (58.9) | 338 (41.1) | |
| Married | 12,098 (80.1) | 3012 (19.9) | |
| Employed | < 0.001 | ||
| No | 3342 (74.7) | 1129 (25.2) | |
| Yes | 9239 (80.6) | 2221 (19.4) | |
| Residence | 0.046 | ||
| Urban | 2195 (80.9) | 518 (19.1) | |
| Rural | 10,386 (78.6) | 2832 (21.4) | |
| Region | < 0.001 | ||
| Northern | 1473 (75.8) | 471 (24.2) | |
| Central | 5691 (82.1) | 1239 (17.9) | |
| Southern | 5417 (76.8) | 1640 (23.2) | |
| Woman’s educational level | 0.216 | ||
| No formal education | 1571 (77.0) | 470 (23.0) | |
| Primary | 8108 (79.2) | 2135 (20.8) | |
| Secondary and higher | 2902 (79.6) | 745 (20.4) | |
| Religion | 0.001 | ||
| Catholics | 2556 (81.1) | 596 (18.9) | |
| Protestants | 3018 (80.8) | 717 (19.2) | |
| Muslims and other | 7007 (77.5) | 2037 (22.5) | |
| Experienced death of child | < 0.011 | ||
| No | 11,642 (79.7) | 2968 (20.3) | |
| Yes | 939 (71.1) | 382 (28.9) | |
| Media exposure | < 0.001 | ||
| No | 7579 (77.4) | 2213 (22.6) | |
| Yes | 5002 (81.5) | 1137 (18.5) | |
| Distance to HF | 0.084 | ||
| No problem | 5610 (79.8) | 1421 (20.2) | |
| Problem | 6971 (78.3) | 1929 (21.7) | |
| Community-level factors | |||
| Community wealth | 0.051 | ||
| Low | 5063 (77.9) | 1433 (22.1) | |
| Middle | 4158 (78.7) | 1124 (21.3) | |
| High | 3360 (80.9) | 793 (19.1) | |
| Community employment | < 0.001 | ||
| Low | 3631 (75.5) | 1179 (24.5) | |
| Middle | 4075 (79.4) | 1058 (20.6) | |
| High | 4875 (81.4) | 1113 (18.6) | |
| Community women’s education | < 0.001 | ||
| Low | 4435 (76.5) | 1365 (23.5) | |
| Middle | 4557 (80.2) | 1122 (19.8) | |
| High | 3589 (80.6) | 863 (19.4) | |
| Community distance to HF | 0.115 | ||
| Low | 3263 (80.7) | 779 (19.3) | |
| Middle | 4889 (78.2) | 1366 (21.8) | |
| High | 4429 (78.6) | 1205 (21.4) | |