Abstract
BackgroundPrevious studies in developing countries suggest that a husband plays an influential role in a woman’s contraceptive use. The influence of a husband/partner’s healthcare decision making power on a woman’s intention to use contraceptives in Mozambique has not been studied. The present study examined this relationship using data from the 2011 Mozambique Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), which included a nationally representative sample of 7,022 women aged 15-49 years.MethodsThe primary outcome of interest in the study was a woman’s intention to use contraceptives. The primary exposure of interest was the person making decisions about a woman’s healthcare, dichotomized as the husband/partner alone vs. the woman herself or jointly with her husband/partner. Several potential socio-demographic confounders were adjusted for in overall and stratified multivariable logistic regression models. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and the associated 95% confidence interval (CI) are reported.ResultsThe mean age of the sample was 30.4 (95% CI: 30.1 - 30.7) years. Overall, a woman who reported her husband/partner usually made the decision about her healthcare was 19% less likely to report an intention to use contraceptives than a woman who reported that she herself or jointly with her husband/partner made the decision (AOR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.71- 0.92). In stratified analyses, the association remained statistically significant among rural women (AOR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.65 - 0.87); among women with knowledge of modern contraceptive methods (AOR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.73 - 0.95); and among women with three or more (AOR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.68 - 0.97) and two or fewer (AOR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.65 - 0.96) living children.ConclusionsA husband/partner’s healthcare decision making power in the relationship had a significant negative effect on a Mozambican woman’s intention to use contraceptives. These findings have implications for addressing the role of men in the design and implementation of successful family planning programs to improve the contraceptive uptake rate among women in Mozambique.
Highlights
Previous studies in developing countries suggest that a husband plays an influential role in a woman’s contraceptive use
This study aims to understand the influence of a husband/ partner’s healthcare decision making power on a woman’s intention to use contraceptives among a nationally representative sample of reproductive aged (15-49 years) women in Mozambique
Seventy-four percent of the women lived in rural areas
Summary
Previous studies in developing countries suggest that a husband plays an influential role in a woman’s contraceptive use. The influence of a husband/partner’s healthcare decision making power on a woman’s intention to use contraceptives in Mozambique has not been studied. Despite the far reaching impact of family planning on the health and well-being of children, women, and families [2,3,4,5], modern contraceptive use in the developing world, especially in Africa, remains low [6]. In Mozambique in 2003, the prevalence of any method of modern contraceptive use among women of reproductive age who were married or were in union was 11.8% [6]. Understanding the barriers to modern contraceptive use in Mozambique would assist policy makers and planners in developing targeted family planning programs for increasing the contraceptive use rate.
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