142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Key Opinion Leaders' Attitudes on what Contraceptive "Choice" Means for Rural Women Living in India

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Sunday, November 16, 2014

Courtney Henderson, MPH, DrPH(c) , Doctor of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Background: It has been shown that in many international settings, women have little opportunity to be informed about, or voluntarily choose, contraception.  Respecting women’s autonomy and providing contraceptive options, however, have been defended as international goals.  Yet in Northern India, women’s ability to make or exercise autonomous decisions regarding contraception is strongly influenced by political structures and healthy policy.  

Study Purpose: This study explores attitudes of key opinion leaders in India regarding contraceptive options for rural women, who should be able to make contraceptive decisions, and how contraceptive options influence women’s autonomy.

Methods: In-depth interviews (n=31) were conducted with key opinion leaders from Indian women’s and health organizations and international organizations in India, during May-July 2013.  Interviews were conducted in English and were digitally recorded.  Data analysis was based on constant comparison, rooted in grounded theory. 

Results: Key opinion leaders differed in their attitudes on who should be able to make contraceptive decisions, with some sighting such decisions as a woman’s choice, and others sighting such decisions as a couple’s choice.  Key opinion leaders from international organizations discussed contraceptive “choice” as having additional contraceptive options, whereas key opinion leaders from Indian health organizations discussed the potential harms to women’s autonomy by providing additional contraceptive options without complementary education and informed consent.   

Discussion: How key opinion leaders understand what constitutes contraceptive “choice” will directly impact women’s access to contraceptive services and the development of programs to promote women’s autonomy.

Learning Areas:

Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe: By the end of this session, participants should be able to describe differences in how key opinion leaders discuss the notion of contraceptive “choice” for women living in rural India.

Keyword(s): Contraception, Policy/Policy Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have conducted research on health disparities, barriers to using health services among marginalized populations, and reproductive health in both the United States and internationally (sub-Saharan Africa and India). My doctoral dissertation focuses on access to family planning services for economically marginalized women living in rural Northern India. One of my specific interests is in the ability of marginalized women to make and exercise informed decisions regarding their own reproductive health and health services utilization.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 2072.0: Enganging men in sexual and reproductive health efforts