Contraceptive use in Jordan

OBJECTIVE: To compare women in the child bearing age for the years 1983, 1990, 1997 regarding their use of contraceptives and the variations in the source of intrauterine contraceptive devices, as it was recently observed that women are more likely to use intrauterine contraceptive devices.

METHODS: Three national surveys carried out in 1983, 1990, 1997 were compared. The samples selected in the 3 surveys were women in the child bearing age. A multistage sampling procedure was used to ensure the representativeness of the samples in the 3 surveys.

RESULTS: The use of contraceptives increased from 26% in 1983 to 40% in 1990 and 53% in 1997. Women became more likely to use intrauterine contraceptive devices where the percentage of use increased from 32% in 1983 to 44% in 1997. The percentage of users of contraceptives in general and intrauterine contraceptive devices in particular was higher in urban areas and in educated women with a high number of children.

CONCLUSION: Women at risk of not using contraceptives should be identified and contacted to convince them to use contraceptives. All barriers to access, use and quality of contraceptives should be investigated. The identification of such barriers will be useful for decision makers and health planners in the country.