Choosing a contraceptive : method choice in Asia and the United States

Notable is the relative popularity of IUD"s in China, oral contraceptives in Indonesia and Malaysia, condoms in Singapore and Japan, and rhythm and withdrawal in the Philippines and Sri Lanka. Part I of this report (5 papers) describes the various factors involved in choosing a contraceptive method, including personal attitudes and values (of both consumers and providers) as well as access to and the cost of contraceptives. Although Asia is the primary focus of the study, Part I includes data on Egypt, Mauritius, Peru, Jamaica, and the United States. Part II (6 papers) examines trends in contraceptive method mix in Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand, as well as traditional methods in Sri Lanka, attitudes towards contraceptives in India, and an experimental outreach program in Bangladesh. Part III (2 papers) interprets contraceptive and sterilization decisions in the United States with reference to socioeconomic and psychosocial variables. A final paper analyzes the choice of contraceptive methods in terms of four factors: (1) contraception goals; (2) one"s ability to use particular methods effectively; (3) one"s judgments of the moral and physical implications of specific methods; and (3) access to specific methods. A multinomial logit analysis model for analyzing method choice is appended.