Codes
This variable is not available for any of the currently selected samples.
Description
CALCONTR_START is a dichotomous variable (0 for no, 1 for yes) indicating whether the woman began, during that woman-month, to use a method of contraception that she was not using during the previous month. CALCONTR_START will have an affirmative response 1) if a woman was not using any family planning during the preceding month, or 2) if she used a different method of family planning than during the preceding month.
The related variable CALCONTR_CHANGE has an affirmative response only in the second case, that is, if the woman used a method of contraception that was different from the one she was using during the preceding month.
For information on the type of contraception used during a month, see CALREPROD_ALLEVENTS.
Comparability
Apart from universe differences, CALCONTR_START is largely comparable across samples.
CALCONTR_START excludes the earliest month of a woman's calendar period, since we have no information about what happened before the start of the calendar period. CALCONTR_START also excludes cases when a woman was pregnant, gave birth, or experienced pregnancy termination during the current or preceding month. While a woman could hypothetically begin using a contraceptive method and have a birth, termination, or pregnancy in the same month, the interviewer can record only one reproductive event per month. Information is collected about births, pregnancies, and pregnancy terminations earlier in the interview, leaving no space to record contraceptive use for months when any of these other events occurred.
Comparability - Standard DHS
CALCONTR_START is based on VCAL_1 for women's samples that collected calendar data on contraceptive use.
