Subjective Expectations and Demand for Contraception

Christine Valente of the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom will collect data on quantitative beliefs of women in Mozambique on contraceptive use to measure the relative importance of factors such as fear of side effects that inhibit use in order to help implement more effective methods. Many women in Mozambique avoid contraceptives, but the reasons, and importantly how women value those different reasons, remain unclear. They will design and conduct a survey to quantify key beliefs on contraceptives among around 700 women who do not want to become pregnant within two years from three provinces in Mozambique. This will enable them to identify ways to correct any false beliefs, such as by providing specific information on the risk of pregnancy in the absence of contraception, to increase contraceptive use.