The Reliability of Contraceptive Discontinuation Reporting in Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Uganda.

Family planning researchers have been studying the discontinuation of contraception-the prevalence and reasons for it-for decades, as it has implications for contraceptive prevalence, total fertility, and unintended fertility. However little is known about the reliability of contraceptive discontinuation reporting: only two studies have examined the reliability of reported discontinuation in low-resource contexts. We use longitudinal and overlapping data from reproductive calendars to test the reliability of women's reporting of contraceptive discontinuation in Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Uganda. We test whether recent discontinuations reported at baseline are reported one year later, and if the same reason for discontinuation is reported. Results reveal moderate reliability at the aggregate level of reporting of the index discontinuation; however, reliability is low when the timing of discontinuation is considered. There is variability across the reliability of reasons for discontinuation; discontinuation due to desired pregnancy is reported reliably while other reasons are less reliably reported. Our findings have important implications for the field, particularly in how the data are used and interpreted; we urge caution around event-level analyses of contraceptive discontinuation and reasons for discontinuation, given low reliability.

Social inequalities in malaria knowledge, prevention and prevalence among children under 5 years old and women aged 15-49 in Madagascar.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 15 % of all deaths in Africa among children under five years old are due to malaria, a preventable and treatable disease. A prevailing sociological theory holds that resources (including knowledge, money, power, prestige, or beneficial social connections) are particularly relevant when diseases are susceptible to effective prevention. This study examines the role of socioeconomic inequalities by broadly predicting malaria knowledge and use of preventive technology among women aged 15-49, and malaria among children aged 6-59 months in Madagascar. METHODS: Data came from women aged 15-49 years (N = 8279) interviewed by Madagascar's 2011/2013 Malaria Indicator Studies, and their children aged under five years (N = 7644). Because geographic location may be associated with socioeconomic factors and exposure to malaria, multilevel models were used to account for unobserved geographic and administrative variation. Models also account for observed social, economic, demographic, and seasonal factors. RESULTS: Prevalence among children four years old and younger was 7.8 %. Results showed that both mother's education and household wealth strongly influence knowledge about and efforts to prevent and treat malaria. Analyses also revealed that the prevalence of malaria among children aged 6-59 months was determined by household wealth (richest vs poorest: OR = 0.25, 95 % CI [0.10, 0.64]) and maternal education (secondary vs none: OR = 0.51, 95 % CI [0.28, 0.95]). CONCLUSIONS: Malaria may be subject to socio-economic forces arising from a broad set of behavioural and geographic determinants, even after adjusting for geographic risk factors and seasonality. Nearly 21 % of the sample lacked primary schooling. To improve malaria reduction efforts, broad-based interventions may need to attack inequalities to ensure that knowledge, prevention and treatment are improved among those who are most vulnerable.

Unmet need and intention to use as predictors of adoption of contraception in 10 Performance Monitoring for Action geographies.

The determinants of fertility typically feature demand as the key motivation driver for contraceptive use. Yet relatively little is known about the extent to which demand for contraception predicts future contraceptive use, primarily due to the lack of longitudinal data that captures these measures at different time points. Two ways in which demand is often measured are unmet need and intention to use. Despite its intended use as a population measure, unmet need is commonly used in individual-level analyses and as a marker for individual-level demand for contraception. Few studies have assessed the extent to which unmet need predicts or reflects women's true latent demand as demonstrated by their future contraceptive use; the same is true for intention to use contraception in the future. We expand on previous research to assess whether and the degree to which unmet need and intention to use contraception predict adoption of contraception within a year, among nonusers in ten representative geographies using Performance Monitoring for Action (PMA) data. Findings show that in nine of ten sites, intention to use within a year was significantly associated with subsequent adoption, while in eight of ten sites, unmet need for spacing or limiting was not associated with adoption. Our results are important for programs as they try to identify true dynamic demand for contraception.

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.