Influences of family planning services on contraceptive failure: evidence from the Kanchanaburi Demographic Surveillance System

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the effect of access to and quality of family planning services on contraceptive failure among married women in the Kanchanaburi Demographic Surveillance System (KDSS). Data on contraceptive failure is from the contraceptive calendar of KDSS, implemented by the Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, Thailand. Retrospective service provision according to the time of contraceptive calendar data obtained from “the Contextual History Calendar”. Cost weight distance and kernel density are geographic information system (GIS) techniques using for measure a spatial accessibility at the individual level and cost allocation technique is used to measure availability of contraceptive method at the nearest public health facility. Event history analysis, using the discrete-time hazard model, was applied to examine factors affecting contraceptive failure. The results indicated that statistically significant associations were found only between the likelihood of contraceptive failure and a proxy of quality of family planning services, the number of contraceptive methods provided at the nearest public health service facility. Travel time to the nearest family planning service facility and density of family planning facilities within 10 kilometers, is not statistically related to contraceptive failure. Therefore, the policy implications derived from this study is to increase the diversity of methods available in the family planning program in order to decrease the likelihood of contraceptive failure.