Spatial Variation in Contraception Use in the Dominican Republic: Associations with Health Services and Educational Resources

Jennifer Toller Erausquin, Duke University

Early childbearing and unintended or mistimed pregnancy have been linked to negative outcomes for maternal-child health, education, and family well-being. In the Dominican Republic, contraceptive use varies by province, ranging from 59.7% to 81.8% of women in unions. This study explores the importance of spatial effects on contraceptive use among women of reproductive age in the Dominican Republic. Using spatial analytic techniques with two recent national-level datasets (2007 DHS and 2006 SIGpas3), I examine whether access to health services and educational resources explain province-level variation in modern contraceptive use. I conduct exploratory spatial analysis and estimate geographically weighed regression models that account for spatial autocorrelation. Independent variables include socioeconomic conditions, female workforce participation, distance to health care facilities, and proximity to primary and secondary schools. Preliminary results suggest coefficients for the association of covariates with contraceptive use vary significantly by geography, in both the magnitude and direction of the coefficients.