The State of Inequality in Utilizing Modern Contraception Methods Among Women of Urban Slums of Rajasthan, India

Purpose Health inequalities are observable differences in health between subgroups of a population. Any level of preventable maternal or child mortality is unacceptable and inequities associated with reproductive health... [ view full abstract ]

Purpose
Health inequalities are observable differences in health between subgroups of a population. Any level of preventable maternal or child mortality is unacceptable and inequities associated with reproductive health outcomes demands action. Contraceptives are considered as a vital player in improving maternal health by evading unintended pregnancies which affects women’s health in several ways. Purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and level of inequality in utilizing modern contraceptive method among women living in the urban slums of Rajasthan, India.
Method
Data from the primary household survey conducted in the year 2015 was used. This paper examines the factors associated with the inequality in modern contraceptive use with the prevalence of modern contraceptive methods among married women (aged 15-49 years) in the urban slums of Rajasthan, India. Different inequalities such as education, economic status, migration status and women’s autonomy were measured with choice of modern contraceptive method adopted by women in slums. Bi-variate analysis was done including chi-square test to determine the difference in population and logistic regression was applied to understand the strength of association of predictor variables and outcome variables. Results highlight the significant difference in the choice of modern contraceptive method adopted and various inequality indicators such as education, economic status, migration status and autonomy of women. The use of modern methods of contraception tended to be lowest in women with no education and generally increased across education levels. Likewise, women with low economic status had lower rates of utilization of contraception.
Conclusion
The study accounts the magnitude of inequality in modern contraceptive use among women of the urban slums of Rajasthan, India. The need of the hour is to focus in the most- disadvantaged subgroups (the poorest, the least educated, migrants and women with less autonomy) in the urban slums of Rajasthan, India.