Developing and testing measures of reproductive decision-making agency in Nepal.

ABSTRACT: Conceptual ambiguity in how we define reproductive empowerment has left the field with inconclusive evidence of its relationship to key reproductive outcomes. Our study aimed to develop and test a measure of reproductive decision-making agency, which is a critical component of reproductive empowerment, in a sample of married women from two Nepalese districts. Initial measures were developed based on theory and previous literature. Next, we used cognitive interviewing techniques to explore local meanings of reproductive empowerment and decision making through eight focus group discussions and 24 in-depth interviews. This process resulted in four core questions used to assess decision making across three domains of reproductive behavior: when to have children, whether to use family planning,

SUBMITTER: Hinson L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6978488 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature