The Reliability of Calendar Data for Reporting Contraceptive Use: Evidence from Rural Bangladesh

Collecting contraceptive‐use data by means of calendar methods has become standard practice in large‐scale population surveys, yet the reliability of these methods for capturing accurate contraceptive histories over time remains largely unknown. Using data from overlapping contraceptive calendars included in a longitudinal study of 3,080 rural Bangladeshi women, we assessed the consistency of reports from the baseline interview month in 2006 with reports from the same month in a follow‐up survey three years later, and examined predictors of reliable reporting. More than one‐third of women were discordant in their reports for the reference month in the two surveys. Among women reporting use of any contraceptive method for the reference month in both surveys, 25 percent reported different methods at the two time points. Women using condoms or traditional methods and those with more complex reproductive histories, including more births and more episodes of contraceptive use, were least likely to report reliably.     

Effect of Village Midwife Program on Contraceptive Prevalence and Method Choice in Indonesia

Indonesia established its Village Midwife Program in 1989 to combat high rates of maternal mortality. The program's goals were to address gaps in access to reproductive health care for rural women, increase access to and use of family planning services, and broaden the mix of available contraceptive methods. In this study, we use longitudinal data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey to examine the program's effect on contraceptive practice. We find that the program did not affect overall contraceptive prevalence but did affect method choice. Over time, for women using contraceptives, midwives were associated with increased odds of injectable contraceptive use and decreased odds of oral contraceptive and implant use. Although the Indonesian government had hoped that the Village Midwife Program would channel women into using longer‐lasting methods, the women's “switching behavior” indicates that the program succeeded in providing additional outlets for and promoting the use of injectable contraceptives.     

Contraceptive use and risk of unintended pregnancy in California

California is home to more than one out of eight American women of reproductive age. Because California has a large, diverse and growing population, national statistics do not necessarily describe the reproductive health of California women. This article presents risk for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among women in California based on the California Women's Health Survey. Over 8900 women of reproductive age who participated in this survey between 1998 and 2001 provide estimates of access to care and use of family-planning methods in the state. We find that 49% of the female population aged 18-44 in California is at risk of unintended pregnancy. Nine percent (9%) of women at risk of an unintended pregnancy are not using any method of contraception, primarily for method-related reasons, such as a concern about side effects or a dislike of available contraceptive methods. Among women at risk for unintended pregnancy, we find disparities by race/ethnicity and education in use of contraceptive methods.     

Contraceptive switching in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has experienced a substantial decline in fertility that has been achieved by means of a large increase in the use of modern methods of contraception. As contraceptive prevalence increases, aspects of contraceptive-use dynamics, including reasons for discontinuation and behavior after discontinuation, become important influences on fertility. This report uses calendar data from the 1993-94 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey to examine contraceptive behavior following discontinuation of modern-method use. The individual-level characteristics found to influence switching behavior include the method used, method-related difficulties with previous contraceptive use, and education. A large amount of unexplained variation in switching rates remains, however, largely at the individual level, but also at the community level for certain types of transition.     

Reliability of adolescents' self-reported sexual behavior: a comparison of two diary methodologies.

PURPOSE: To evaluate techniques for measuring high-risk sexual behaviors by comparing the reliability and acceptability of two daily sexual behavior diary modes: a written calendar and an automated telephone interview. METHODS: This randomized controlled study included 105 sexually active female adolescents aged 15-19 years recruited from among teens seeking reproductive health care services at a family planning clinic in the San Francisco Bay Area. Participants completed a standardized sexual behavior questionnaire each day for 4 weeks. Contraceptive use by method type was recorded. Reporting differences between the two diary modes were assessed using generalized estimating equations, concordance of diary and retrospective interview responses was evaluated using kappa statistics, and contingency table analysis and Poisson regression models were constructed to examine mode acceptability. RESULTS: Respondents randomized to the telephone diary cohort reported less frequent use of barrier contraceptive methods, specifically less spermicide use (odds ratio 0.27, 95% confidence interval 0.08, 0.95), and decreasing male condom use over time, whereas reports of male condom use increased for written diary respondents (p = .007). Participant characteristics associated with diary acceptability, defined as the frequency of diary completion, were assessed and teens classified as higher risk provided fewer diary reports (p < .01). Regardless of mode completed, 65% of respondents believed the telephone diary would be preferable to the written diary for most teens. CONCLUSIONS: The automated telephone diary offered an acceptable, even preferred, methodologic alternative to the written diary calendar and elicited more accurate reporting of selected contraceptive behavior.     

Contribution of Contraceptive Discontinuation to Unintended Births in 36 Developing Countries

High contraceptive discontinuation results in millions of women having an unmet need for contraception. However, its contribution to unintended fertility is not known. Reproductive calendar data in Demographic and Health Surveys in 36 countries are used to estimate the percent of unintended recent births attributable to contraceptive discontinuation. Contraceptive discontinuation accounted for about one‐third of unintended recent births in all countries together. Method failure and contraception discontinued for other reasons accounted for most of this contribution. The contribution of contraceptive discontinuation to unintended births increases with the use of modern methods but decreases as method composition at a given level of contraceptive prevalence shifts toward methods with higher effectiveness and longer continuation. High contraceptive discontinuation in the past without changes in fertility intentions has resulted in millions of unintended births. This contribution is likely to increase with the anticipated increase in the use of modern methods. Enabling current users to reduce method failure and encouraging them to switch to another method after discontinuing the use of the original method will be an effective strategy to reduce contraceptive discontinuation and its contribution to unintended births.     

Free Access to a Broad Contraceptive Method Mix and Women's Contraceptive Choice: Evidence from Sub‐Saharan Africa

Financial barriers may restrict women's ability to use their preferred contraceptive methods, especially long‐acting reversible contraceptives (LARC). Providing free access to a broad contraceptive method mix, including both LARC and short‐acting reversible contraceptives (SARC), may increase contraceptive use, meet women's various fertility needs, and increase their agency in contraceptive decisions. Linking facility and individual data from eight countries in sub‐Saharan Africa, we use a propensity score approach combined with machine learning techniques to examine how free access to a broad contraceptive method mix affects women's contraceptive choice. Free access to both LARC and SARC was associated with an increase of 3.2 percentage points (95 percent confidence interval: 0.006, 0.058) in the likelihood of contraceptive use, driven by greater use of SARC. Among contraceptive users, free access did not prompt women to switch to LARC and had no effect on contraceptive decision‐making. The price effects were larger among older and more educated women, but free access was associated with lower contraceptive use among adolescents. While free access to contraceptives is associated with a modest increase in contraceptive use for some women, removing user fees alone does not address all barriers women face, especially for the most vulnerable groups of women.     

Exploring the Paradox of Intimate Partner Violence and Increased Contraceptive Use in sub‐Saharan Africa

We question the positive effect of intimate partner violence on women's modern contraceptive use in sub‐Saharan Africa found in previous studies. The explanations offered for this counter‐intuitive result are either that women make greater efforts to avoid childbearing in conflictual relationships, or that endogeneity bias exists. Endogeneity bias stems from the inability of researchers to attribute a specific cause to one variable when they are unable to control for related missing covariates. Demographic and Health Survey data from 13 countries in sub‐Saharan Africa provide evidence for the latter but not the former. Indeed, using simple probit regression models, we observe a positive relationship between intimate partner violence and modern contraceptive use in Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. This effect remains unchanged when controlling for various measures of women's autonomy in the household, showing that these two variables interact with contraceptive use independently. However, the use of recursive bivariate probit and Rosenbaum bounds sensitivity analysis to control for endogeneity biases erodes the initial positive effect in the five countries, although only partially in Burkina Faso. Our research shows that the previously reported findings arise from poor model specification and highlights the need for more appropriate data to assess the effect of intimate partner violence on modern contraceptive use in sub‐Saharan Africa.     

Contraceptive discontinuation and failure and subsequent abortion in Romania: 1994-99

This study examines the levels and correlates of contraceptive failure and discontinuation in Romania, together with the consequences of contraceptive method failure in terms of induced abortion. Of special interest are women who rely on the traditional method of withdrawal and the proportion of withdrawal failures resulting in abortion. Our analysis is based on multiyear calendar data concerning women's contraceptive use and monthly reproductive behaviors collected in the 1999 Romanian Reproductive Health Survey. Weibull regression models are estimated to analyze the determinants of discontinuation and failure for all methods combined and for withdrawal. Overall, 19 and 28 percent of women became pregnant within the first year of using any contraceptive method and of practicing withdrawal, respectively. About 57 and 59 percent of failures from use of all methods and from withdrawal ended in abortion, accounting for 30 percent and 22 percent, respectively, of all abortions reported between 1994 and 1999. These findings suggest that high rates of contraceptive discontinuation and failure contributed significantly to the widespread reliance on induced abortion among Romanian women during this period.     

女性流动人口避孕现状

目的:了解女性流动人口避孕药具的使用情况及生殖避孕服务的获得情况。方法:采用流行病学现况调查方法,对青岛市的10家工厂3521名流动人口进行了问卷调查。结果:有11.4%的未婚者有婚前性行为。在过去6个月有性生活的未婚者使用传统避孕方法的比例是36.8%(已婚18.9%),不能坚持使用避孕药具的比例是46.4%(已婚25.2%),不能坚持每次同房都使用安全套的比例是52.8%(已婚者39.0%)。Logistic回归发现年龄越大、知识得分高(OR=1.36)、有生育史(OR=2.03)、过去6个月接受过生殖健康方面知识(OR=1.52)的人容易坚持采取避孕措施。有56.6%的未婚者(已婚者24.4%)从来没有得到过任何有关生殖健康的知识。仅有16.1%的未婚者(已婚者50.1%)有机会向医生咨询过生殖健康和计生服务的知识。结论:流动人口未婚者使用传统避孕方法、不能坚持使用避孕药具和不能坚持每次同房都使用安全套的比例较已婚者高。流动人口,尤其是未婚者生殖避孕服务的可及性较差。     

Beyond geography: Cultural zones and global patterns of modern-method contraceptive use

Abstract

To increase understanding of global variation in contraceptive use, we classify countries into “cultural zones” based on religious traditions and geographical regions. Using data for 156 countries, we model modern contraceptive use rates as a function of cultural zones, geographic regions, economic development, women’s education, and time. We find that cultural zones explain modern-method contraceptive use better than geographic regions alone, even when adjusting for economic development, women’s education, and time. We argue that practitioners and researchers should make use of cultural zones as a tool for understanding cross-national variation in sexual and reproductive health outcomes.     

Contraceptive use by diabetic and obese women.

PURPOSE: Women with chronic medical conditions are at increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes, yet contraceptive use by these women has not been well described. The purpose of this study was to describe contraceptive use by diabetic and overweight/obese women compared with women without these conditions. METHODS: Using cross-sectional data from the 11 states participating in the optional Family Planning Module of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System in 2000, we analyzed contraceptive use among 7,943 sexually active women of reproductive age (18-44) who were not trying to conceive. Using logistic regression techniques, we modeled the effect of diabetes and overweight/obesity on contraceptive nonuse, controlling for age, race/ethnicity, marital status, education, income, and health insurance coverage. MAIN FINDINGS: Contraceptive nonuse was reported by 1,500 (18.9%) of the total sample, 31 (25.8%) diabetic women, 371 (20.0%) overweight women, and 385 (23.4%) obese women. In the multivariable model, obesity was significantly associated with contraceptive nonuse (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.16-1.55), but there were no significant differences in contraceptive nonuse for diabetic women (adjusted OR 1.23, 95% CI 0.80-1.87) or overweight women (adjusted OR 1.14, 95% CI 0.99-1.31). Older, Black, Hispanic, married, less educated, and women without health insurance were more likely to report contraceptive nonuse. CONCLUSION: Among women with need for contraception, obese women were more likely to report contraceptive nonuse than normal weight women. Because women with chronic conditions like obesity are at higher risk of pregnancy-related complications and adverse pregnancy outcomes, proper contraceptive use and unintended pregnancy avoidance is a priority.     

Correlates of and Couples' Concordance in Reports of Recent Sexual Behavior and Contraceptive Use

This study uses couple‐level data to measure couples' concordance of self‐reported time since last coitus and of condom and other contraceptive use at last sexual intercourse among monogamous couples in Liberia (N = 1,673), Madagascar (N = 4,138), and Namibia (N = 588). The study also examines the characteristics associated with sexual behavior and contraceptive use occurring in the 28 days prior to the interviews among couples whose reports are concordant. Overall, our study finds less than 75 percent concordance in reporting of time since last coitus. Use of condoms and other contraceptives yielded fair (0.27) to substantial (0.67) agreement on the kappa index. Factors predicting a shorter time since last coitus among concordant couples in at least two of the countries included wealth, spousal age difference, education, and both partners wanting another child. The discordant reports of recent sexual behavior and contraceptive use suggest that caution should be exercised when inferring couples' behavior from the report of one spouse, that concordant reports should be examined when possible, that methodological changes to improve the validity of spousal reports should be pursued, and that family planning and HIV‐prevention programs should target those groups found to be using condoms and other contraceptives less frequently, particularly poorer couples.     

Women's Sexual Empowerment and Contraceptive Use in Ghana

Pervasive gendered inequities and norms regarding the subordination of women give Ghanaian men disproportionately more power than women, particularly in relation to sex. We hypothesize that lack of sexual empowerment may pose an important barrier to reproductive health and adoption of family planning methods. Using the 2008 Ghana Demographic Health Survey, we examine the association between women's sexual empowerment and contraceptive use in Ghana among nonpregnant married and partnered women not desiring to conceive in the next three months. Increasing levels of sexual empowerment are found to be associated with use of contraceptives, even after adjusting for demographic predictors of contraceptive use. This association is moderated by wealth. Formal education, increasing wealth, and being in an unmarried partnership are associated with contraceptive use, whereas women who identify as being Muslim are less likely to use contraceptives than those who identify as being Christian. These findings suggest that to achieve universal access to reproductive health services, gendered disparities in sexual empowerment, particularly among economically disadvantaged women, need to be better addressed     

Contraceptive use in Appalachian women who use drugs and were recruited from rural jails

ABSTRACT

This study describes a secondary data analysis of contraceptive use across the lifetime and within the six months prior to incarceration in a sample of 400 currently incarcerated women recruited from rural, Appalachian jails, who were using drugs prior to incarceration. Phase 1 (baseline) data from an NIH funded study were used to examine rates of contraceptive use, reasons for nonuse of condoms, and correlates of condom use. Results indicate that the majority (96.5%) of respondents reported lifetime use of contraceptives, and most (70.5%) had a history of using multiple methods, with male condoms, oral contraceptive pills, and contraceptive injections being the most commonly used methods. Almost 69% of respondents reported nonuse of contraceptives within the last six months, despite high rates of involvement in risky, intimate male partnerships prior to incarceration. Contraceptive use was found to be historically acceptable in this sample, in stark contrast to rates of use within the last six months prior to incarceration, suggesting that reproductive justice-informed, social work interventions to help improve current contraceptive use are warranted as a harm-reduction approach.     

Women’s agency and its relationship to current contraceptive use in lower- and middle-income countries: A systematic review of the literature

Research shows a positive relationship between women’s empowerment and reproductive health. Yet we know little about the quantitative relationship between women’s agency and contraceptive use. We conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature assessing the link between women’s decision-making and freedom of movement with their contraceptive use in lower- and middle-income countries. Of 102 articles that met the initial screening criteria, 12 met all inclusion and exclusion criteria. Of the 12 included studies, consistently positive associations with contraceptive use were found in those that measured decision-making and freedom of movement as separate constructs. Composite measures had a less clear relationship with contraceptive use. In conclusion, women’s agency is associated with women’s contraceptive use in lower- and middle-income countries. However, the relationship is sensitive to how agency and its components are measured. Our review suggests the need for consistent validation of scales for women’s agency as well as more rigorous research using standardised and validated scales, when possible. Longitudinal and intervention studies in lower- and middle-income countries will be useful for understanding the causal impact of women’s agency on contraceptive use, and will help to inform policies and programmes to increase contraceptive use in these settings.     

Conflict and Contraception in Colombia

This study explores how armed conflict relates to contraceptive use in Colombia, combining data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program and Demographic and Health Surveys 1990–2016. Our study is the first systematic effort to investigate whether and how violent conflict influences women's contraceptive use, using nationally representative data across all stages of women's reproductive careers. With fixed effects linear probability models, we adjust for location‐specific cultural, social, and economic differences. The results show that although modern contraceptive use increased over time, it declined according to conflict intensity across location and time. We find no evidence that this relationship varied across socioeconomic groups. Increased fertility demand appears to explain a small portion of this relationship, potentially reflecting uncertainty about losing a partner, but conflict may also result in lack of access to contraceptive goods and services.     

Contraception in Japan: Current trends

ObjectivesHigh proportion of Japanese uses condoms; lower proportion uses oral contraceptive pills (OCPs). We examined the longitudinal patterns for contraceptive usage in Japan and evaluated differences before and after OCP government approval.Study designWe accessed nationally representative survey data for women aged 16–49 years from 1950 to 2014.ResultsUsage of condoms and OCP was 83.4% and 3.0%, respectively in 2014. OCP use before (1.21%) and after (1.97%) government approval did not differ significantly (p = .58).ConclusionsThe prevalence of OCP usage remains low in Japan. A wide gap in use between Japan and other developed countries exists.ImplicationsThrough a wide gap in OCP use between Japan and other countries, we revealed how choices of contraceptive methods and their benefits could be openly available for women of reproductive age, and how health care professionals disseminate appropriate knowledge about contraception for women in need.     

Contraceptive Use Patterns among Women of Reproductive Age in Two Southeastern States

BackgroundUnintended pregnancies remain an important public health issue. Modern contraception is an important clinical service for reducing unintended pregnancy. This study examines contraception use among a representative sample of women residing in two southeastern U.S. states.MethodsA cross-sectional statewide survey assessing women's contraceptive use and reproductive health experiences was conducted in Alabama and South Carolina. Characteristics of the study population were compared across contraceptive use categories and multivariable regression analysis was performed examining relationships between covariates of interest and contraceptive use outcomes.ResultsApproximately 3,775 women were included in the study population. Overall, 26.5% of women reported not using any contraception. Short-acting hormonal methods were the most commonly reported (26.3%), followed by permanent methods (24.4%), long-acting reversible contraception (LARC; 14.3%), and barrier/other methods (8.5%). Nonuse was more prevalent among women with some college or an associate's degree, incomes between $25,000 and $50,000, no health insurance, and longer gaps in care. LARC use among women with Medicaid as a pay source was higher than use among privately insured women and higher in South Carolina than Alabama. Both nonuse and LARC use were higher among women with no insurance.ConclusionsStudy findings are largely consistent with previous research using similar population-based surveys. LARC use was higher among the study population relative to what is observed nationally. Factors enabling access to contraceptive services, particularly for lower income women, were associated with contraception use patterns. These findings provide important context for understanding individuals’ access to resources and are important for fostering increased access to contraceptive services among women in these two states.     

Global Contraceptive Failure Rates: Who Is Most at Risk?

Contraceptive failure is a major contributor to unintended pregnancy worldwide. DHS retrospective calendars, which are the most widely used data source for estimating contraceptive failure in low‐income countries, vary in quality across countries and surveys. We identified surveys with the most reliable calendar data and analyzed 105,322 episodes of contraceptive use from 15 DHSs conducted between 1992 and 2014. We estimate contraceptive method‐specific 12‐month failure rates. We also examined how failure rates vary by age, education, socioeconomic status, contraceptive intention, residence, and marital status using multilevel piecewise exponential hazard models. Our failure rate estimates are significantly lower than results from the United States and slightly higher than previous studies that included more DHS surveys, including some with lower‐quality data. We estimate age‐specific global contraceptive failure rates and find strong, consistent age patterns with the youngest users experiencing failure rates up to ten times higher than older women for certain methods. Failure also varies by socioeconomic status, with the poorest, and youngest, women at highest risk of experiencing unintended pregnancy due to failure.