Correlates of contraceptive use-effectiveness.

A method of determining characteristics of family planning clinic patients which correlate with acceptance of contraceptive methods duration of use reasons for termination and occurrence of unplanned pregnancy through use of life table methodology and multivariate analysis techniques is proposed. Acceptors of various contraceptive methods would be classified by duration of use and reasons for discontinuation and the factors associated with use effectiveness within each subgroup would be identified and compared. A series of prediction indices would be developed for use in a clinical setting based upon the factors involved in long term method use discontinuation and unplanned pregnancy. Such an instrument would allow family planning care providers to estimate probable use-effectiveness of each method for specific individuals and to provide guidance accordingly. The rationale for the approach previous related work and methods of procedure to be followed are spelled out.