Tonji Durant, PhD¹, Florina Serbanescu, MD, MPH², Olivia McDonald, FRCOG MPH³, Donneth Edmondson, BS⁴, Peter Parchment, MsC⁵, and Carmen McFarlane, MsC⁵. (1) Maternal and Infant Health Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy NE, MS K-23, Atlanta, GA 30341, 770-488-6281, tdd4@cdc.gov, (2) Division of reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Reproductive Health, 4770 Buford Hwy., Koger Rhodes Building, Mail Stop K-35, Atlanta, GA 30341-3724, (3) Executive Director, Jamaica National Family Planning Board, 5 Sylvan Avenue, Kingston, Jamaica, (4) Computer Division, Statistical Institute of Jamaica, 7 Cecelio Avenue, Kingston 10, Jamaica, (5) Office of the Director, Jamaica National Family Planning Board, 5 Sylvan Avenue, Kingston, Jamaica

Background: Low contraceptive use and early age at first intercourse are associated with high fertility rate and sexually transmitted diseases. Jamaican family planning officials have implemented interventions to increase contraceptive use and age at first intercourse. Assessing fertility and contraceptive prevalence (CP) could result in more effective interventions to prevent unintended pregnancy. Data and Methods: Data from the 1997 (n=6,384) and 2002 (n=7,169) population-based Jamaican Reproductive Health Surveys (JRHS) were used to calculate total (TFR) and age-specific fertility rates (ASFR) for all women and CP for women in union (married, common-law, or in a visiting partnership). JRHS is a face-to-face, household-based survey conducted using a multi-stage sampling design. Results: Between surveys, TFR decreased 11% (from 2.8 to 2.5 births per woman) while teenage fertility, the second highest ASFR in 1997, decreased 29% (from 112 to 79 births per 1,000 15-19-year-old women). While overall CP changed little (from 66% to 69%), CP among 15-19-year-olds increased from 59% to 69%, a 17% increase (p=0.08). Among 15-19-year-olds most of the increase was the result of a 60% increase in condom use (from 27% to 43%) (p=0.05). Median age at first intercourse remained about 17 years. Conclusion: Among 15-19-year-old women fertility decreased by almost one-third while condom use increased significantly and age at first intercourse remained unchanged. These results underscore the impact of recent interventions to increase contraceptive use among teenagers, particularly condom use, thereby reducing fertility, unintended pregnancy, and the risk of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases in a resource-restricted environment.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will

• be familiar with contracetive use patterns among Jamaican women in union aged 15-19 years between 1997 and 2002,
• describe the trend in age-specific and total fertility among Jamaican women between 1997 and 2002,
• be familiar with the methodology used to conduct a population-based reproductive health survey and how the methodolgy improves the understanding of contraceptive use patterns and fertility trends via the data collected,
• be able to make additional recommendations for increasing (even more) contraceptive use among Jamaican women in union aged 15-19 years.

Keywords: Contraceptives, International Reproductive Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.