Prevalence and characteristics of covert contraceptive use in the Performance Monitoring for Action multi-country study

An empirical analysis of the demand for family planning satisfied by modern methods among married or in-union women in Nigeria: Application of multilevel binomial logistic modelling technique

BACKGROUND

Given the health and economic benefits of family planning (FP), Nigeria's very low demand for FP satisfied by modern methods (mDFPS) of less than 50% is therefore a major public health concern, especially considering the global target aimed at achieving an mDFPS of at least 75% by year 2030 for all countries. In view of this, together with recognising the possible contextual nature of health outcomes, this study aimed to empirically analyse the mDFPS among married or in-union women of reproductive age (WRA) in Nigeria.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A multilevel binomial logistic model with two levels of analysis was used: individual and community levels. Secondary cross-sectional data were obtained from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, and analyses were performed using Stata 15.0. The analytical sample size was 9,122 WRA nested in a total of 1,072 communities.

RESULTS

The mDFPS was approximately 31.0%. The median odds ratio (MOR) estimated from the final multilevel model was 2.245, which was greater than the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for most of the individual-level variables, suggesting that the unexplained/residual between-community variation in terms of the odds of women having their mDFPS was more relevant than the regression effect of most of the individual-level variables. This was with the exception of the regression effects of the following individual-level variables: women's husbands that had higher education level in comparison to their counterparts who had husbands with no formal education (aOR = 2.539; 95% CI = 1.896 to 3.399; p<0.001); and women from the Yoruba ethnic group in comparison to their counterparts from the Hausa/Fulani/Kanuri ethnic group (aOR = 2.484; 95% CI = 1.654 to 3.731; p value<0.001). However, other individual-level variables with positive statistically significant regression effects on mDFPS were: women who mentioned that money for accessing health care was not a problem; women's empowerment in relation to the visitation of family and relatives; and women being exposed to FP messages through various media sources, all in comparison to their respective counterparts. On the other hand, at the community level, women in communities where a high percentage of them had at least a secondary education had statistically significant greater odds of having mDFPS than women in communities with lower education levels (aOR = 1.584; 95% CI = 1.259 to 1.991; p<0.001). We found similar findings regarding women residing in communities with exposure to FP messages through various media sources. However, using the 80% interval ORs (80% IORs) as a supplemental statistical measure for further understanding the regression effects of community-level variables showed that all of the 80% IORs had a value of '1', signifying considerable uncertainty in the regression effects of all community-level variables due to the substantial residual variation existing between communities.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study showed that to achieve the dire increase in mDFPS in Nigeria, policy interventions aimed at improving the education level of both females and males, especially beyond the secondary school level, should be implemented. Additionally, all of the various media sources should be extensively utilised, both at the individual and the community level, by the Nigerian government to spread information on the importance of women having their mDFPS.

Differential discontinuation by covert use status in Kenya

Objectives

Qualitative research suggests that covert users may be more likely to discontinue contraception due to the logistics of discretion and fear of disclosure. This study sought to quantify whether covert users are more likely to discontinue contraception than overt users.

Study design

We used a national longitudinal survey from Kenya conducted from November 2019/February 2020 to November 2020/April 2021 to test whether the time to discontinuation between covert and overt users still in need of contraception differed using survival analyses over a period of 5 years since method initiation.

Results

Multivariate Cox regression results showed there was an interaction with time and covert use on the risk of discontinuation; for every additional month of use, there was an increased risk of discontinuation of covert users compared to overt users (3% increased hazard, p = 0.02). At 1 and 2 years, there were no differences in the hazard of discontinuation (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]1 year 0.95, 95% CI 0.54-1.65 and aHR2 years 1.37, 95% CI 0.85-2.21), yet at 3, 4, and 5 years, the hazard of discontinuation was higher for covert compared to overt users (aHR3 years 1.99, 95% 1.11-3.56; aHR4 years 2.89, 95% CI 2.0-6.40; aHR5 years 4.18, 95% CI 1.45-12.0).

Conclusions

These results suggest efforts are needed to support covert users in managing their contraceptive use and for improving contraceptive counseling surrounding covert use. Our findings shed light on the increasing challenge covert users face after approximately the first 2 years of use; covert users require additional follow-up in both research and care provision.

Implications

Covert users are at a higher risk of discontinuation of contraception while still trying to avoid pregnancy, particularly after the first 2 years of use. Family planning providers and programs must protect access to and maintain the privacy of reproductive services to this population, focusing on follow-up care provision and counseling.

More than Measurement Error: Discrepant Reporting of Contraceptive Use and the Role of Wives' and Husbands' Educational Attainment

This paper describes discrepancies in spouses' reports of the use of female-controlled, nonvisible contraceptive methods using data from rural Nepal that were collected monthly from both spouses of 822 couples between 2008 and 2016. We find that spouses in about half of couples provided discrepant reports during the period of observation, and these discrepancies occurred in 14 percent of the months of observation. We then investigate these discrepant reports as possible indicators of incomplete transparency regarding reproductive choices and examine whether they are associated with wives' education and spouses' relative education levels. We find, first, that wife's educational attainment was negatively associated with discrepant reports of contraceptive use, independent of spouses' relative educational attainment. At the same time, these models suggest that educational differences between husbands and wives were associated with discrepant reports. Couples in which wives had more education than their husbands faced greater odds of discrepant reports of contraceptive use, relative to couples in which spouses had similar education. Among couples in which husbands had more education than wives odds of wife-only reporting were lower, relative to couples with similar levels of education. These findings offer important new insights into spousal dynamics that may influence transparency regarding contraceptive use.

Perspectives on sexual and reproductive health self-care among women, healthcare providers, and other key informants: a mixed-methods study in South Africa and Zambia

BACKGROUND

"Self-care" for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) includes contraceptive methods and other supplies that people can use with or without the support of a healthcare provider. Self-administered tests, self-injection of injectable contraception, or self-removal of intrauterine devices (IUDs) can increase people's access to and autonomy over their own SRH. Objectives of this study were to assess women's current interest in and use of SRH self-care and explore key informants' (KI) opinions of self-care, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

Data for this study came from female participants in the longitudinal Contraceptive Use Beyond ECHO (CUBE) study, and KIs, including healthcare providers, in South Africa and Zambia between September 2020 and June 2021. For this analysis, we used data from a participant phone survey (n = 537), and from in-depth interviews (IDIs) completed with a sub-sample of women (n = 39) and KIs (n = 36). Survey data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, and IDI data were analyzed using applied thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Female survey participants in South Africa were more interested in learning about emergency contraceptive pills, subcutaneous injectable contraception, and CycleBeads, while Zambian participants wanted more information and access to condoms. However, in IDIs in both countries, women described minimal experience with self-care beyond condom use. In the Zambian KI IDIs, COVID-19 led to increased self-care counseling on subcutaneous injectable contraception and HIV self-testing. KIs who do not counsel on self-care were concerned that women may harm themselves or blame the provider for difficulties. Two KIs thought that women could possibly self-remove IUDs, but most expressed concerns. Reported barriers to self-care included COVID movement restrictions, transport costs, lack of accessible pharmacies, women's low awareness, and possible stigma.

CONCLUSIONS

Women surveyed reported interest in learning more about SRH self-care methods and resources, but in IDIs did not report extensive previous use besides condoms. KIs described some concerns about women's ability to use self-care methods. Counseling on and provision of self-care methods and supplies may have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but ensuring that self-care is more than just a temporary measure in health systems has the potential to increase access to SRH care and support women's autonomy and healthcare needs.

Perceptions of Partners' Fertility Preferences and Women's Covert Contraceptive Use in Eight sub-Saharan African Countries

Covert use of contraception is a common but underreported and understudied phenomenon where one partner uses contraception without the other's knowledge. We used Demographic and Health Survey couple data to examine the relationship between wives’ perceptions of husbands’ fertility preferences and type of contraceptive use (overt vs. covert) in Benin, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zambia using logistic regression. Wives who perceived that their husbands wanted more children than them had increased odds of using covertly, compared to those who perceived that husbands wanted the same number of children in all countries except Benin, and the strength of the relationships ranged from adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.89 (95 percent confidence interval (CI) 1.75–4.76) in Zambia to aOR 4.01 (95 percent CI 1.68–9.58) in Mali. Wives who reported not knowing their husbands’ fertility preferences had increased odds of using covertly compared to wives who perceived that their husbands wanted the same number of children in all countries except Zambia, ranging from aOR 2.02 (95 percent CI 1.11–3.69) in Ethiopia to aOR 3.82 (95 percent CI 2.29–6.37) in Kenya. Our findings indicate that efforts to increase partner engagement to align couple's fertility preferences may encourage overt use.