Abstract

PIP: A field study was conducted in order to determine the preference for and the continuation rates achieved with 2 previously available contraceptives (the OC and the IUD) and a newly introduced method (depromedroxyprogesterone acetate, or DMPA) in a rural area of Thailand. Women were offered a free choice of method after the presentation of balanced educational material. 73.8% of all women chose DMPA; this preference was not influenced by the educational lecture. 16.9% of the women chose the OC and 9.3% chose the IUD. Women perceived the injection as a convenient method when compared to the OC and the IUD, but the primary preference for DMPA appeared to be mostly due to ill-defined personal factors and the influence of friends. The 1-year life-table continuation rates with DMPA (75.5%/100) women were significantly higher than the continuation rate achieved with the IUD (66.5/100 women). The continuation rates with the OC were 72/100 women, but the excessively high loss to follow-up with the OC made interpretation of results difficult. When women are offered a free choice of contraceptive methods under a quasiexperimental situation, useful information can be gathered on the potential value of new methods for an ongoing family planning program.