Abstract Context: Estimating demand for contraception from married women only may misrepresent unmet need for family planning; given that unmarried women, who are often young, are equally if not more exposed to unwanted pregnancy and have good reasons to practice contraception. Past studies mainly focused on married women, which limits the ability to estimate demand among all women; specifically it is unclear if intention to use contraception among married women predicts use among all women. Methods: The study site is a rural, marginalized district in northern Ghana, where contraceptive use is low based on the complex interplay of culture, preferences and contraceptive availability. The district is a site under demographic surveillance since 1993. Using data collected longitudinally from 1995 to 2003, this study examines if intention to use contraception among all women can be used to predict their actual use. The study also describes the main contraceptive methods used and reasons for non-use in the district. A panel survey was introduced to monitor changes in fertility and contraceptive use following the introduction of a community health and family planning intervention project. Data from the 2001 and 2003 panel survey were used for the analysis. The sample consisted of 2827 non-users of contraception in the baseline year (2001). Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the adjusted effect of contraceptive intention on future use. Results: About two thirds (65%) of the respondents were in a marital union while 23% had never been married. Among all women, those who expressed the need to use contraception were more than twice as likely to have used contraception when compared with those without such intentions (OR 2.04; CI: 1.47; 2.82). Among the married women, those with intention to use contraception were close to two times as likely to have used contraception compared to those without (OR 1.88; CI: 1.31; 2.72). The main family planning methods used were injectables (55%) followed by prolonged abstinence (22%) and the pill (10%). More than half of the women not using a method reported not being at risk as the main reason for non-use. Results for all women and for married women alone demonstrate that, in this setting, intention can be used to predict future use. Conclusion: Stated contraceptive intention is a significant determinant and measure of future family planning needs when the needs of unmarried women as well as married women are considered. Unmarried women and not only married women should therefore be a focus in family planning studies for their intentions count in determining who is in need of contraception and the nature and scale of that need.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1972. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1982. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-159).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1981. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-128).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-171).

No description available.

Doktorsavhandling--Historia--Uppsala, 1994. / Mention parallèle de titre ou de responsabilité : Genre et politique : une comparaison entre les politiques d'avortement et de contraception suédoise et française de la Belle Epoque à la deuxième guerre mondiale. Résumé en français.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1991.

Reproduction de : Thèse d'exercice : Médecine : Nancy 1 : 2004. / Titre provenant de l'écran-titre.

Thèse d'exercice : Médecine. Médecine générale : Université de Nantes : 2004. / Bibliogr. f. 96-102 [79 réf.].