Erica Sedlander 1, Jeffrey B Bingenheimer 2, Shaon Lahiri 3, Mary Thiongo 4, Peter Gichangi 5, Wolfgang Munar 6, Rajiv N Rimal 7
Affiliations
- 1Erica Sedlander, Department of Prevention and Community Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA. University of California, San Francisco, Department of Family and Community Medicine, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- 2Jeffrey B. Bingenheimer, The George Washington University, Milken Institute School of Public Health, Department of Prevention and Community Health, Washington, DC, USA.
- 3Shaon Lahiri, The George Washington University, Milken Institute School of Public Health, Department of Prevention and Community Health, Washington, DC, USA.
- 4Mary Thiongo, International Center for Reproductive Health Kenya, Mombasa, Kenya.
- 5Peter Gichangi, Technical University of Mombasa, Mombasa, Kenya. Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
- 6Wolfgang Munar, Department of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
- 7Rajiv N. Rimal, Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
PMID: 34255872 PMCID: PMC8457152 DOI: 10.1111/sifp.12157
Abstract
The belief that contraceptive use causes infertility has been documented across sub-Saharan Africa, but its quantitative association with actual contraceptive use has not been examined. We collected and analyzed sociocentric network data covering 74 percent of the population in two villages in rural Kenya. We asked respondents to nominate people from their village (their network), and then we matched their network (alters) to the individual participant (ego) to understand how their beliefs and behaviors differ. We asked about contraceptive use and level of agreement with a statement about contraceptive use causing infertility. We calculated the average nominated network contraceptive use score and the average nominated network belief score. Holding the individual belief that contraceptive use causes infertility was associated with lower odds of using contraceptive (AOR = 0.82, p = < 0.01); however, when one’s own nominated network connections held this belief, the odds of using contraceptive were even lower (AOR = 0.75, p <0.01). Our findings show that this belief is associated with lower odds of contraceptive use and highlights the role that other people in one’s network play in reinforcing it. Sexual and reproductive health programs should address this misperception at the individual and social network level.
© 2021 The Authors. Studies in Family Planning published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Population Council.
Link
