TY - RPRT AU - Yoder, P. Stanley AU - Guèye, Mouhamadou AU - Konaté, Mamadou CY - Calverton, Maryland, USA TI - The use of family planning methods in Mali: The how and why of taking action T2 - DHS Qualitative Research Studies No. 18 PB - ICF Macro PY - 2011 UR - http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/QRS18/QRS18.pdf AB - This study examines the situation of women in Mali who use modern contraceptive methods and compares this to the situation of women who do not, in order to understand how and why women take action to use family planning. The research sought to discover if certain elements in social and family relationships influence the decision to use family planning or not. In Mali, as in many other West African countries, rates of contraceptive use have remained very low. How is it that some women who are not ready to become pregnant do not use family planning? To compare women who use family planning to those who do not, this study explored a number of themes: women’s experiences growing up, their participation in the choice of a husband, creating a family of their own, their knowledge of contraception, their fertility preferences, their access to services, their preferences for different types of services, and their socioeconomic status in the household. The study explored the relative importance of elements that affect the use of modern family planning methods from the perspectives of married women, married men, and service providers who offer family planning methods. N1 - For assistance using downloaded citations from The DHS Program, please visit http://dhsprogram.com/publications/Citing-DHS-Publications.cfm. This report presents findings from a qualitative research study conducted in Mali in 2010 as part of the MEASURE DHS project. ICF Macro, an ICF International company, provided technical assistance, and funding was provided by the Office of Population and Reproductive Health, Bureau for Global Health of USAID, Washington, under Contract No. GPO- C00-08-00008-00. The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. Additional information about the MEASURES DHS project can be obtained by contacting MEASURE DHS, ICF Macro, 11785 Beltsville Drive, Suite 300, Calverton, MD 20705 (telephone: 301-572-0200; fax 301-572-0999; email: reports@measuredhs.com; internet: www.measuredhs.com). ER -