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Contraceptive method preference dynamics and fulfillment in urban Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal

Carolina Cardona, Johns Hopkins University
Philip Anglewicz, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
David Bishai, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Contraceptives are not an undifferentiated good: each method has unique attributes that limit substitution with other methods. Women develop preferences for contraceptives based on these attributes, and these preferences guide women’s decision to use contraception. The proposed study aims to assess contraceptive method preference dynamics by measuring the stability of women’s contraceptive preferences, identify factors associated with preference stability, and measure the preference-use match. Using data from a cohort of women of reproductive age living in urban Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal, we find women have unstable contraceptive preferences. Over two years, 42.8% changed their preferred contraceptive. Women mainly prefer long-acting methods over short-acting and traditional contraception. Among those preferring long-acting contraception, 18.2% shifted their preferences towards short-acting contraception and 8.6% to traditional contraception. The largest shifts are registered among those preferring short-acting contraception. Between baseline and endline, 28.1% of the women matched their baseline contraceptive method preferences at follow-up, 50.3% adopted a different method, and 21.7% remained as never users. Adopters of long-acting contraception registered the highest matching. Method preferences are not stable and they are not always satisfied. Identifying the factors that shape the stability and satisfaction of contraceptive preferences can help family planning providers improve access to contraception.

Keywords: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Cross-country comparative analyses, Panel studies

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session P9.