Measuring Family Planning Provider Bias: A Discrete Choice Experiment Among Burkinabe, Pakistani, and Tanzanian Providers

Maria Dieci
William H. Dow, University of California, Berkeley
Zachary Wagner, RAND Corporation

Unmet need for modern contraception methods remains high around the world, particularly for youth. Even women who visit family planning providers often still fail to receive methods that fit their needs. The fact that young girls have the most egregious unmet need for contraception suggests that providers could be biased against youth. However, youth are often unmarried and nulliparous, and it is unclear if it is age or these other characteristics that drive provider bias. We use a discrete choice experiment (DCE) in Burkina Faso, Pakistan and Tanzania to understand which client characteristics drive provider bias. The DCE presented vignettes about contraceptive counseling to hypothetical clients with random variation in age, parity, and marital status. We found that, although young women may experience the most bias, it is not due to age. Rather, marital status and parity seem to drive provider decisions to offer services or counsel on modern methods.

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 Presented in Session 10. Fertility, Family Planning, Sexual Behavior & Reproductive Health 2