[Knowledge and use of contraceptives: a comparative analysis with data from reports from Latin American countries]. / Concimiento y uso de metodos anticonceptivos: un analisis comparativo con datos de los informes de paises en America Latina.

PIP: Objective of this paper is to compare data published in the general reports of countries participating in the World Fertility Survey. The major differences encountered were presented by the differences between the surveys of the different countries, in this case Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, and the Dominican Republic, and the disparity of classification criteria of the variables considered. For example, age intervals varied in the different countries, as did distribution of women as to place of residence and educational status. Since such variables are strictly related to fertility rate and contraceptive usage, differences must be taken into consideration in the interpretation of results. In all countries considered the proportion of women knowing about contraception was very high; there were, however, great differences in contraceptive usage. Panama and Costa Rica, for example, had high levels of contraceptive use, while Colombia was in an intermediate position, and Peru and the Dominican Republic had low levels. In all countries contraceptive use was higher in urban residents, and in women with better education. Such differences were less noticeable in countries where contraceptive use was higher. Parity had a great influence on contraceptive use, since women with no children had lower levels of contraceptive use than women with higher parity.^ieng