Contraceptive discontinuation and side effects: evidence from a longitudinal study in southern Ghana

Bailey, Claire (2009) Contraceptive discontinuation and side effects: evidence from a longitudinal study in southern Ghana. British Society for Population Studies Annual Conference, Brighton, UK. 09 - 11 Sep 2009.

Abstract

Ghana was the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to implement an official population policy in 1969 in response to the recognition by the government of high fertility and high population growth rate and their potentially detrimental consequences. Knowledge of contraceptive methods in Ghana is almost universal with 98% of all women aged 15-49 reporting knowledge of at least one method. However the overall contraceptive prevalence rate remains relatively low at 20.7% for all women aged 15-49 in 2003. Many studies have used large scale survey data to determine the socio-economic and cultural characteristics which may act as determinants of individuals' contraceptive behavior. Contraceptive side effects have been identified as both a barrier to the adoption of a modern contraceptive method and also as a reason for the discontinuation of methods. This paper analyses data from the Cape Coast Social Learning, Social Influence and Fertility Control Survey. This is a longitudinal survey of women aged 18 to 50 in Southern Ghana which was collected in eight rounds between 1998 and 2003. Specifically this study uses the calendar data which collected monthly data on both contraceptive use status and experience of symptoms of side effects. This equates to around 77,000 women months of data including slightly more than 10,000 women months of modern method use. Using descriptive statistics and a multi-state modelling approach this study examines the pattern, timing and frequency of contraceptive discontinuation and switching and how these relate to the concurrent self-reported experience of side effects

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