Contextual influences on contraceptive use in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

This paper uses linked individual and health facility data from the 1998 South Africa Demographic and Health Survey and the 1998 Eastern Cape Facility Survey to explore community and health facility influences on modern contraceptive use. Several pathways of influence between the community and individual contraceptive adoption are identified, centering primarily on the community climate of female autonomy. Few significant effects of the health facility environment on contraceptive adoption are identified. The residual variation in contraceptive use highlights the deficits that exist in current datasets for capturing community influences on contraceptive behavior.