[Knowledge and practice of contraception in Haiti: a factor in fertility decline over the last two decades?]. / La connaissance et la pratique de la contraception en Haiti: facteur de la baisse de la fecondite depuis deux decennies?

PIP: Information on contraceptive knowledge and practice in Haiti is available from four national surveys taken over 20 years: the 1977 Haiti Fertility Survey, the 1983 Contraceptive Prevalence Survey, the 1989 National Survey of Contraception, and the 1994-95 Survey of Mortality, Morbidity, and Use of Services. The proportion of Haitian women in union declaring knowledge of at least one contraceptive method increased from 83% in 1977 to 99% in 1994-95. The influence of educational level and rural or urban residence on knowledge declined over time and was virtually nil by 1995. The surveys indicated that, among women in union, 18% used a contraceptive method in 1977, 7% in 1983, 10% in 1989, and 17% in 1995. Educated and urban women had higher rates of contraceptive usage. The use of traditional methods has declined since 1977, while the proportion of women using modern methods increased from 5% in 1977 to 13% in 1995. Combining the survey results reporting contraceptive practice with analyses of the proximate determinants indicates that contraceptive usage only partially explains the decline in Haiti's total fertility rate from 6 in 1982-83 to 4.8 in 1995. Assuming that the natural fertility rate has remained constant at 17.7 children/woman over the past 2 decades, it was estimated, using the Bongaarts method, that in 1994-95 7.4 births were avoided due to marriage patterns, 3.6 due to breast-feeding and postpartum infecundity, 1.3 due to contraception, and 0.6 due to abortion. It is very likely that the impact of duration of union will decline in the future, as premarital sexual activity increasingly becomes the norm.^ieng

[Adolescent sexuality in Peru]. / La sexualidad en la adolescencia en el Peru

PIP: 22% of the population of Peru, or 4.25 million individuals, is between the ages of 11 and 19 years. A survey was performed on a sample of 6,000 adolescents living in Lima, Cajamarca, Huarez, and Supe. Surveys were performed in a variety of locations, including school classrooms, maternity wards, schools, and work places. The questionnaire was constructed based on a format that had been tested in Nigeria; questions dealt with socioeconomic background, sex behavior, contraceptive behavior, pregnancy history, and health practices and knowledge. 60% of the adolescents were women and 40% were men. 41% had had at least 1 sexual experience; among 18-year-olds, this % rose to 55. Only 10% were in stable union. Married adolescents tended to have begun sexual relations sooner in life. Early sexual relations were more common among men than among women, and more common among non-religious adolescents than among Catholics. Fewer than 12% of the adolescents had at 1 time used contraceptives. Contraceptive use was more prevalent among adolescents from wealthier socioeconomic groups, and more prevalent in Lima than in other regions surveyed. Of adolescents using contraceptives, 38% used condoms, 24% used oral contraceptives, and 15% used rhythm methods. Most adolescents who did not use contraceptives failed to do so because of lack of knowledge. Almost 1/4 of the young women had had a pregnancy. 18.5 of these had abortions, usually in a hospital. The importance of supporting educational prevention programs is underlined.^ieng