1999 Russia women"s reproductive health survey : follow-up study of three cities : preliminary report

A follow-up to a 1996 baseline survey and a 1998 interim survey, the 1999 RWRHS aimed to help assess the impact of the Russian Women"s Reproductive Health Project. This preliminary report describes some of the key initial findings from the 1999 survey. The survey was designed to obtain completed interviews with representative samples of about 2000 women 15-44 years old in each of the three survey sites. Preliminary findings revealed some indications of a significant impact of the project: abortion rates have been declining, modern contraceptive use among younger women increased over time, women were found to be more informed about contraception, subsequently improving women"s attitudes toward family planning and their understanding of the safety and effectiveness of modern methods. Unfortunately, despite these improvements, some hoped-for changes have not taken place. Traditional method use has increased in some sites; post-abortion counseling decreased in all sites, the percentage of pregnancies described as planned decreased from 1996 to 1999, and levels of unmet need for contraception did not decrease. (POPLINE abstract)