This presentation examines associations between women’s empowerment and contraceptive use in selected African countries.

1. Women’s empowerment and choice of family planning methods Mai Do and Nami Kurimoto Department of International Health and Development Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine

7. Prevalence of current contraceptive use (%)

9. Relative risk ratios of overall women’s empowerment ^ p<.10; * p<.05; ** p<.01; *** p<.001 Ghana ‘ 08 Namibia ‘ 06/07 Uganda ‘ 06 Zambia ‘ 07 Female Couple Female Couple Female Couple Female Couple Overall score 1.14 ^ 1.27 * 1.19 *** 1.24 *** 1.21 *** 1.31 *** 1.17 *** 1.08 **

10. Relative risk ratios of women’s empowerment dimensions ^ p<.10; * p<.05; ** p<.01; *** p<.001 Swaziland: non significant associations Ghana ’08 Namibia ‘06/07 Uganda ‘06 Zambia ‘07 Female Couple Female Couple Female Couple Female Couple Household economy 1.10 ^ 1.02 1.09 ** 1.05 1.09 ** 1.09 * NS NS Socio-Cultural activities Others/husband alone Joint/women alone NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS Health seeking behavior Others/husband alone Joint/women alone NS NS NS NS NS NS 1.00 1.21 ^ 1.00 0.95 Perceived agreement on fertility preference No agreement Agreement NS NS 1.00 1.48 *** 1.00 1.02 1.00 1.20 ^ 1.00 1.60 *** 1.00 1.45 *** 1.00 1.31 * Sexual activity negotiation 1.18 * 1.13 * NS NS NS NS 1.03 1.08 * Domestic violence attitudes 0.95 1.11 ^ 0.99 1.11 * NS NS NS NS