title: ROLE OF COMMUNITY AND CONTEXT IN CONTRACEPTIVE BEHAVIOUR IN RURAL WEST BENGAL, INDIA: A MULTILEVEL MULTINOMIAL APPROACH.
abstract: Studies examining the influence of community-level interactions and contextual/supply-side factors in determining contraceptive choices have yielded mixed results in the context of rural India. Using small-scale survey data of 1348 women from rural West Bengal and by employing multilevel multinomial logit models, this study tested the influence of these factors after controlling for various socio-demographic and individual-level socioeconomic factors. The study reveals that supply-side intervention strategies, i.e. addressing outreach and advocacy activities and socio-religious needs at the community level, are essential prerequisites to breaking away from the predominance of sterilization in the contraceptive method-mix and enhancing the adoption of modern reversible contraceptives for improved spacing of births - a crucial factor in maternal and child health outcomes.
authors.affiliation: *Institute of Development Studies Kolkata (IDSK),Kolkata,India.
authors.forename: Saswata
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.affiliation: †Crawford School of Public Policy,Australian National University,Canberra,Australia.
authors.forename: Md Zakaria
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Siddiqui
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003256:Community Participation / Q000523:psychology; D003267:Contraception; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D003710:Demography; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005193:Family Planning Services; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D016015:Logistic Models; D000068097:Maternal Health; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012424:Rural Population; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult