Effects of the Family Planning Program on Modern Contraceptive Adoption and Continuation in Vietnam

Mai Do, Johns Hopkins University

The study examines the effects of the family planning programmatic factors related to service access and quality upon modern contraceptive method adoption and continuation in Vietnam. Data come from the 1997 Vietnam Demographic and Health Survey. Cox proportional hazard models were applied in the analysis of contraceptive adoption, while discrete-time complementary log-log models were used in the analysis of first and all method continuation. Service access and quality in the outreach program was not found to be significantly related to either adoption or continuation. In contrast, commune health center service quality emerged as significantly and positively associated with modern contraceptive adoption, while both commune health center service quality and access were important determinants of both first and all-method discontinuation. The study indicates a need for a formal evaluation of the outreach program and highlights importance of commune health center services in influencing client contraceptive behavior.