4727.0.55.002 - Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: Users' Guide, 2012-13

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 27/11/2013 First Issue

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Contents >> Health Risk Factors >> Contraception

CONTRACEPTION

Definition

This topic refers to the use of contraception as reported by respondents.

Population

Information was obtained for all females aged 18 to 49 years of age, and all males 18 years and over. Respondents had to be present at the interview, however, they may have been assisted by a proxy to complete these questions.

Methodology

Females aged 18 to 49 years were asked if they had ever taken an oral contraceptive pill. Respondents could only give a yes or no response.

Respondents were then asked which of the following form of contraception they were currently using:

oral contraceptive pill
use condoms
had a contraceptive injection (e.g. DepoProvera)
have an implant (e.g. Implanon)
had tubes tied
not using any contraception
use or do anything else to stop having babies (specify)

More than one response was allowed.

Males aged 18 years and over were asked whether they had ever used a condom. Respondents could only give a yes or no response. If no, the respondent was asked no further questions. If yes, the respondent was asked if they were currently using a condom. Respondents could only give a yes or no response.

Data items

The data items and related output categories for this topic are available in Excel spreadsheet format from the Downloads page of this product.

Interpretation

Points to be considered in interpreting data for this topic include the following:

The potentially sensitive and personal nature of these questions may have impacted on respondents willingness to respond, and on the nature of the responses. This may have been further influenced by other household members presence at the interview.
The data relate to contraceptive practices and should not be interpreted as indicative of sexual patterns.
The data relate primarily to the contraceptive practices current at the time of the survey, which may differ from the respondent's usual practices. As a result, the data provide a point in time picture of practices in the adult population, but care should be taken in relating those characteristics with other health characteristics described in the survey for individual respondents.

Comparability with 2004-05 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS)

Data of common items are considered comparable between the 2004-05 NATSIHS and the 2012-13 NATSIHS. Data were only collected for females in 2004-05, therefore male responses from 2012-13 have no comparable data.

It should be noted that the non-remote interview of the 2004-05 NATSIHS answered these question on a privately completed form. Therefore responses may differ as a result of this method. There were also extra responses, such as 'trying to get pregnant', available to the women in 2004-05 but not included in 2012-13. Furthermore, 2004-05 NATSIHS had additional questions that were not collected and therefore can not be compared to 2012-13 NATSIHS.

Comparability with 2008 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS)

These data are not collected in the 2008 NATSISS.

Comparability with 2011-12 National Health Survey (NHS)

These data are not collected in the 2011-12 NHS.