Contraceptive Discontinuation, Failure, and Switching in Cambodia

Contraceptive prevalence, a measure that represents the proportion of women who currently use a contraceptive method, does not take into account the duration or interruption of use, or changes in method, which have an impact on the effectiveness of contraceptive use. Using data from the 2014 Cambodia Demographic and Health survey, this study estimated rates of contraceptive discontinuation, failure, and switching, including reasons for discontinuation, among married women age 15-49, and estimated the associations with selected socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. The study found that one in every four women surveyed discontinued their contraceptive method during the first year of use. The two most commonly cited reasons for discontinuation were desire to become pregnant and health concerns with the method, while cost or access were rarely reported as reasons for discontinuation.