Comparability of Contraceptive Prevalence Estimates for Women from the 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

John Santelli, Columbia University
Laura Lindberg, Guttmacher Institute
Vaughn Rickert, Columbia University
Diana Bensyl, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Sam Posner, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Shelly Makleff, International Planned Parenthood Federation Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF WHR)
Kathryn Kost, Guttmacher Institute

Objective: This study assesses the comparability of contraceptive use estimates for adult women from the 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), using the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) as a benchmark. Method: We compared demographic differences, national estimates of current contraceptive method, and reasons for nonuse. Results: After adjusting for differences in the coding of hysterectomy, many BRFSS estimates for current contraceptive use were statistically similar to those from the NSFG. Small but statistically significant differences were found for vasectomy (7.7%, 6.3%), the pill (21.9%, 19.6%), rhythm (1.5%, 1.0%), the diaphragm (0.5%, 0.2%), and withdrawal (0.3%, 2.7%). Major reasons for nonuse were similar: seeking pregnancy and currently pregnant. The percentage of women who were not currently sexually active was higher in BRFSS (16.0%) compared to NSFG (12.5%). Conclusions: The BRFSS is a useful source of population-based data on contraceptive use for reproductive health program planning.