Changes in the use of effective and long-acting reversible contraception in Vietnam

OBJECTIVES

To calculate the prevalence and identify correlates of unmet need for contraception and to assess whether prevalence of use of effective contraception and long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) has changed over time among married or cohabiting, reproductive-age women in Vietnam.

METHODS

Study population was drawn from nationally representative Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys conducted in 2000, 2006, 2011 and 2014. Unmet need for contraception was defined as occurring when a fecund, married or cohabiting woman is not using any method of contraception but either does not want children or wants to delay birth for at least 1 year or until marriage. Following the ranking of method effectiveness by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we defined "effective contraception" as implant, intrauterine device, male and female sterilization, injectable, pill, patch, ring or diaphragm. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify correlates of unmet need for contraception in 2014 and Cochran-Armitage trend tests to assess changes in effective contraception and LARC use from 2000 to 2014. All analyses used survey weights to account for the complex sampling design.

RESULTS

In 2014, 4.3% of married or cohabiting, reproductive-age women had unmet need for contraception. Multivariable analysis showed that age, education and number of children ever born were statistically significant correlates of unmet need for contraception. Use of effective contraception statistically significantly declined from 53.0% in 2000 to 45.7% in 2014 (p<.0001). Similarly, LARC declined from 39.6% in 2000 to 30.0% in 2014 (p<.0001). After adjusting for age, education, residence and having at least one son, these secular trends remained.

CONCLUSION

Findings indicate that effective contraception and LARC use have decreased among married or cohabiting women of reproductive age in Vietnam. Correlates of unmet need for contraception should be used to inform interventions to prevent unintended pregnancy.

IMPLICATIONS

Although the prevalence of unmet need for contraception was low (4.3%) in 2014, the use of effective contraception and long-acting reversible contraception declined among reproductive-age, married or cohabiting women in Vietnam from 2000 to 2014. This finding is particularly striking given the economic growth in the nation during this time frame.

KEYWORDS

Contraception; Long-acting reversible contraception; Population-based survey; Prevalence; Vietnam.