A Comparison of Contraceptive Use Trends in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua

Paul Stupp, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Daniel Williams, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Danni Daniels, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

This paper considers trends in contraceptive use in Central America, with an emphasis on determining whether changes in prevalence can be attributed to changes in such factors as women’s education, economic status and urbanization. Within the context of Latin America, Central America is one of the last regions to experience fertility decline with much of the decline being attributable to greater contraceptive use. This decline has taken place against a backdrop of improvements in women’s educational attainment and household economic status. A primary goal of this paper is to determine whether the changes in contraceptive use can be largely attributed to these social changes. A secondary goal is to compare the four countries in terms of whether differences between the countries in contraceptive use can be explained by differences in these social and economic factors. We also consider changes over time in contraceptive method mix and sources of contraception.