Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T04:12:08.207Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Concordance in spousal reports of current contraceptive use in India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 August 2020

Dipti Govil Open the ORCID record for Dipti Govil [Opens in a new window]  and
Nidhi Khosla Open the ORCID record for Nidhi Khosla [Opens in a new window]
Dipti Govil
Affiliation:
International Institute for Population Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai, India
Nidhi Khosla*
Affiliation:
Department of Health Sciences, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, CA, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: nidhi.khosla1@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Couple-level reports of contraceptive use are important as wives and husbands may report their use differently. Using matched couple data (N = 63,060) from India’s NFHS-4 (2015–16), this study examined concordance in spousal reports of current contraceptive use and its differentials. Reporting of contraceptive use was higher among wives (59.0%) than husbands (25.2%). Concordance was low; 16.5% of couples reported the current use of the same method, while 20.4% reported the current use of any method. Many husbands did not report female sterilization as a means of contraception being used by their wives. Reconstruction of contraceptive use among men, based on the ‘ever-use of sterilization’ question asked to men, increased concordance by 10%. Multivariate analyses showed that concordance was low in urban and southern India, among younger women and among women with a lower wealth index. Men’s control over household decision-making and negative attitudes towards contraception were associated with lower concordance. The findings highlight the importance of using couple-level data to estimate contraceptive prevalence, and the role of education programmes to inculcate positive attitudes towards contraception, fostering gender equality and involving men in family planning efforts. The results also raise the issue of data quality as the survey questions were asked differently to men and women, which might have contributed to the wide observed discordance.

Keywords

ConcordanceContraceptive useIndia
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 53 , Issue 4 , July 2021 , pp. 606 - 622
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alio, AP, Daley, EM, Nana, PN, Duan, J and Salihu, HM (2009) Intimate partner violence and contraception use among women in sub-Saharan Africa. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 107(1), 35–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bailey, MJ (2013) Fifty years of family planning: new evidence on the long-run effects of increasing access to contraception. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution 46(1), 341–409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bankole, A and Singh, S (1998) Couples’ fertility and contraceptive decision-making in developing countries: hearing the man’s voice. International Family Planning Perspectives 24(1), 15–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barbieri, M, Hertrich, V and Grieve, M (2005) Age difference between spouses and contraceptive practice in sub-Saharan Africa. Population 60(5), 617–654.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Becker, S and Costenbader, E (2001) Husbands’ and wives’ reports of contraceptive use. Studies in Family Planning 32(2), 111–129.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Becker, S, Hossain, M and Thomson, E (2006) Disagreement in spousal reports of current contraceptive use in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Biosocial Science 38(6), 779–796.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beckman, LJ (1983) Communication, power, and the influence of social networks in couple’s decisions on fertility. In Bulatao, RA and Lee, RD (eds) Determinants of Fertility in Developing Countries. Academic Press, New York, pp. 415–443.Google Scholar
Biddlecom, A and Fapohunda, BM (1998) Covert contraceptive use: prevalence, motivations, and consequences. Studies in Family Planning 29(4), 360–372.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blanc, AK and Grey, S (2002) Greater than expected fertility decline in Ghana: untangling a puzzle. Journal of Biosocial Science 34(4), 475–495.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Census of India (2011) Census of India 2011. Office of the Registrar General Census Commissioner, Indian Census Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi.Google Scholar
Choiriyyah, I and Becker, S (2018) Measuring women’s covert use of modern contraception in cross-sectional surveys. Studies in Family Planning 49, 143–157.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, J (1988) Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2 nd edition). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ.Google Scholar
de Silva, T and Tenreyro, S (2017) Population control policies and fertility convergence. Journal of Economic Perspectives 31(4), 205–228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ezeh, AC and Mboup, G (1997) Estimates and explanations of gender differentials in contraceptive prevalence rates. Studies in Family Planning 28(2), 104–121.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fabic, MS and Becker, S (2017). Measuring contraceptive prevalence among women who are at risk of pregnancy. Contraception 96(3), 183–188.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gasca, NC and Becker, S (2018). Using couples’ discordant reports to estimate female covert use of modern contraception in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Biosocial Science 50(3), 326–346.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Govil, D and Purohit, N (2011) Health care system in India. In Rout, HS (ed.) Health Care Systems: A Global Survey. New Century Publications, New Delhi, India, pp. 576–612.Google Scholar
IIPS (1995) Family Planning, National Family Health Survey – MCH and Family Planning, India, 1992–1993, Bombay, India. Chapter 6, pp. 127–178. URL: http://rchiips.org/nfhs/data/india1/iachap6.pdf (accessed 23rd November 2018).Google Scholar
IIPS and ICF (2017) National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015–16: India. IIPS, Mumbai. URL: http://rchiips.org/NFHS/NFHS-4Reports/India.pdf (accessed 23rd November 2018).Google Scholar
Link, CF (2011) Spousal communication and contraceptive use in rural Nepal: an event history analysis. Studies in Family Planning 42(2), 83–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Planning Commission (1997) Family Welfare – Human and Social Development, 9 th Five Year Plan, Volume 2. URL: https://niti.gov.in/planningcommission.gov.in/docs/plans/planrel/fiveyr/9th/vol2/v2c3-5.htm. (accessed 17th July 2020).Google Scholar
Population Foundation of India (2010) Overview. In Sharma S, Malik C and Mishra NR (eds) Advocacy Papers on Population Issues. New Delhi: Population Foundation of India, 8-30. URL: http://populationfoundation.in/files/fileattached/Fileattached-1480403702-Advocacy-Papers-on-Population-Issues.pdf (accessed 23rd November 2018).Google Scholar
Registrar General of India (2016) Sample Registration of System Statistical Report, 2016 (Field-work period: 2017). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi. URL: http://www.censusindia.gov.in/vital_statistics/SRS_Reports__2016.html (accessed21st September 2018).Google Scholar
Registrar General of India (2018) Compendium of India’s Fertility and Mortality Indicators, 1971–2013. Sample Registration System (SRS), New Delhi. URL: http://www.censusindia.gov.in/vital_statistics/Compendium/Srs_data.html (accessed 21st September 2018).Google Scholar
Sharma, V, Mohan, U, Das, V and Awasthi, S (2012) Sociodemographic determinants and knowledge, attitude, practice: survey of family planning. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care 1(1), 43–47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sherpa, SZ, Sheilini, M and Nayak, A (2013) Knowledge, attitude, practice and preferences of contraceptive methods in Udupi district, Karnataka. Journal of Family and Reproductive Health 7(3), 115–120.Google ScholarPubMed
Tilahun, T, Coene, G, Temmerman, M and Degomme, O (2014) Spousal discordance on fertility preference and its effect on contraceptive practice among married couples in Jimma zone, Ethiopia. Reproductive Health 11, 27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Uddin, J, Hossin, MZ and Pulok, MH (2017) Couple’s concordance and discordance in household decision-making and married women’s use of modern contraceptives in Bangladesh. BMC Women’s Health 17(1), 107.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
United Nations (2017) World Family Planning 2017 – Highlights (ST/ESA/SER.A/414). Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. URL: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/family/WFP2017_Highlights.pdf. (accessed 26th November 2018).Google Scholar
United Nations (2019) World Population Prospects 2019 – Highlights. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. URL: https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2019_10KeyFindings.pdf (accessed 24th December 2019.Google Scholar
UNDP (2015) World Contraceptive Use 2015. POP/DB/CP/Rev2015. Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division, United Nations. URL: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/dataset/contraception/wcu2015.shtml (accessed 23rd November 2018).Google Scholar
Yadav, K, Singh, B and Goswami, K (2009) Unmet family planning need: differences and levels of agreement between husband–wife, Haryana, India. Indian Journal of Community Medicine: Official Publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine 34(3), 188–191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed