Percent of men and women who intend to use an LAPM in the future Percent of men and women who intend to use an LAPM in the future Definition: Among men and women of reproductive age (aged 15-49 years) surveyed who are either not currently using any method of contraception and who say they intend to use a contraceptive method in the future or respondents who are currently using a short-acting or traditional method, the percent who say they plan to use a long-acting or permanent method (LA/PM). “Intend” is operationally defined as the percent of respondents who answer affirmatively to the question, “Do you intend to use an LA/PM in the future?” (Evaluators may have to list what the LA/PMs are.) This indicator is calculated as: (Number of women and men who say they plan to use an LA/PM in the future/ Number of women and men who are either not currently using any method of contraception but plan to or are using a short-acting or traditional method x 100 Calculations for non users and current short-acting or traditional method users should be made separately. Calculations can be done at the national or subnational levels. Alternative definitions: Denominator can be the whole sample size regardless of stated intentions regarding future use. Indicator can be calculated only for current short-acting or traditional method users who say they intend to switch methods. Data Requirement(s): Responses to survey in sample population. If researchers measure degree of intention using a five-point Likert scale, they must decide whether to combine “strong intent to” with “some intent to” to arrive at the total percentage intending to use LAPM. Data should be disaggregated by respondent’s age, marital status, and parity. Data Source(s): Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) or other population-based survey Purpose: For planning purposes, family planning (FP) programs need to understand people’s intentions regarding future method use or method switching in order to design appropriate LAPM training and logistics activities. This indicator can help support such planning. In addition, if intentions to use LAPMs are low compared to mature programs, this indicator can highlight the need for enhanced behavior change communication. Issue(s): Intention to use does not translate directly into future use. Intentions should be mapped along with CPR trends to assess whether people are generally able to meet their own reproductive health and contraceptive use intentions. Other planning tools (Reality Check http://www.respond-project.org/pages/pubs/tools.php, SPARCHS) provide concrete planning guidance; this indicator only sets a framework. Also, the measurement of this indicator relies on the willingness of respondents to truthfully admit their intentions, which may or may not be valid. Keywords: long-acting/permanent methods (LAPM), family planning Gender Implications: Three of the LAPMs are female methods and one is a male method. Method-specific data can offer a perspective on whether a FP program is providing contraceptive choice for women and men. Related content Family Planning (Core) Filed under: contraception, Family Planning, FP, FP/RH, Indicators, LAPM, Reproductive Health, RH
