Association between tribal status and spacing contraceptive use in rural Maharashtra, India

Madhusudana Battala; Anita Raj; Mohan Ghule; Saritha Nair; Jay Silverman; Anindita Dasgupta; Balaiah Donta; Niranjan Saggurti

doi:10.1016/j.srhc.2015.11.009

Association between tribal status and spacing contraceptive use in rural Maharashtra, India

Sex Reprod Healthc. 2016 Mar:7:78-80. doi: 10.1016/j.srhc.2015.11.009. Epub 2015 Dec 8.

Authors

Madhusudana Battala¹, Anita Raj², Mohan Ghule³, Saritha Nair³, Jay Silverman⁴, Anindita Dasgupta⁴, Balaiah Donta³, Niranjan Saggurti¹

Affiliations

¹ Population Council, #142, First Floor, Golf Links, New Delhi 110003, India.
² University of California San Diego School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0507, La Jolla, CA 92093-0507, USA; Center on Gender Equity and Health, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0507, La Jolla, CA 92093-0507, USA. Electronic address: anitaraj@ucsd.edu.
³ National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Jehangir Merwanji Street, Parel, Mumbai 400 012, India.
⁴ University of California San Diego School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0507, La Jolla, CA 92093-0507, USA; Center on Gender Equity and Health, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0507, La Jolla, CA 92093-0507, USA.

Abstract

This study examines associations between tribal status and spacing contraception use (SCU) in rural Maharashtra, India. Cross-sectional analyses were conducted on baseline survey data from non-sterilized married couples (n = 867) participating in the CHARM family planning evaluation study. Participants were aged 18-30 years and 67.6% were tribal; 27.7% reported current SCU. Crude regression analyses indicated that tribals were less likely to use contraception (AOR = 0.04, 95% CI = 0.29, 0.54); this association was lost after adjusting for education, higher parity and desire for pregnancy, factors associated with tribal status. Findings suggest that lower SCU among tribals is driven by social vulnerabilities and higher fertility preferences.

Keywords: Contraceptive use; Maharashtra; Rural India; Tribal population.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Contraception Behavior*
Contraception*
Ethnicity*
Family Characteristics
Family Planning Services*
Female
Fertility*
Humans
India
Male
Pregnancy
Rural Population*
Young Adult

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding