A field study of the choice and continuity of use of three contraceptive methods in a rural area of Thailand

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Abstract
Summary: The present study was designed to assess the preference for and the continuation rates achieved with two previously available contraceptives (the pill and the IUD), and one newly introduced method (depomedroxypro-gesterone acetate, or DMPA), in a rural area of Thailand. After the presentation of balanced educational material on the three contraceptives, women were offered a free choice of method. It was found that 73·8% of all women adopted DMPA as their method of choice, and that this preference was not influenced by the educational lecture. In contrast, 16·9% of women chose the pill and 9·3% chose the IUD. The injection was perceived as a convenient method when compared to the other routes of administration, but the dominant preference for DMPA appeared to be largely due to ill-defined personal factors and the influence of friends. The 1-year life-table continuation rates with DMPA (75·5 per 100 women) were significantly higher than the continuation rate achieved with the IUD in this rural population (66·5 per 100 women). The continuation rates with the pill were 72 per 100 women, but the excessively high loss to follow-up with this method made the interpretation of the results difficult. It is suggested that if women are offered a free choice of contraceptive methods under a quasi experimental situation, useful information can be obtained on the potential value of new methods for an on-going family planning programme.

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