TITLE:
Trends and Determinants of Unmet Need for Family Planning in Bihar (India): Evidence from National Family Health Surveys
AUTHORS:
Amit Kumar, Aditya Singh
KEYWORDS:
Family Planning; Unmet Need; Fertility; Bihar; National Family Health Survey
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Applied Sociology,
Vol.3 No.2,
June
14,
2013
ABSTRACT: Using
data from all three rounds of the National
Family Health Survey, this study examines the trends and determinants of unmet
need for family planning in the state of Bihar. Bivariate analysis was carried
out to examine the level and trends of unmet need for family. Binary logistic regression was used to examine the
factor affecting unmet need for family planning. About 25% of the currently
married women, aged 15 - 49 years, in Bihar at present
have an unmet need for family planning services, 11% for spacing and 12% for
limiting. Only 18% of total demand for spacing methods is met compared to about
72% of total demand for limiting methods. The unmet need for family planning
among Muslim (32%), rural (24%) and adolescent (36%) and poor women (26%) is
relatively higher than other groups. “Religious
prohibition” and “husband
opposed” were the main reasons for not using
contraception. A considerable proportion of older women (45 - 49 years) and those living in
urban areas cited method-related reasons. About 86% of Muslim women cited
opposition to use as the main
reason for not using family planning. The same is also substantiated by
logistic regression analysis where the odds of unmet need were significantly
higher among Muslim women (OR = 1.88; p 0.05). Women from Other Backward
Castes (OR = 0.74; p = 0.05) and rich households (OR =
0.55; p = 0.00) had lower odds of unmet
need for family planning. The results highlight the need of an effective
implementation of information, education and communication activities in the
communities and improvement in the quality of advice and care services related
to family planning. Family planning policies and programs in Bihar should focus
on reaching out to the women from disadvantaged groups such as adolescent,
Muslim, poor and Scheduled Caste.