See related article by McDougal et al.
INTRODUCTION
Family planning (FP) programs are generally designed to support individuals and couples in enacting their pregnancy prevention intentions and are often premised on an ideal that everyone who wants to avoid pregnancy can be protected by voluntary, safe, and effective contraception, which includes fertility awareness-based methods (i.e., standard days, 2-day, and lactational amenorrhea methods); barrier methods (i.e., male and female condoms, diaphragms and spermicides, and cervical caps); hormonal methods (i.e., pills, injectables, implants, combined patch, vaginal ring, and hormonal intrauterine device [IUD]); and other nonhormonal methods (i.e., copper IUD, vasectomy, and tubal ligation).1 As program managers and policymakers direct limited resources toward achieving that ideal, data are needed to inform the investments, including data to identify numbers and types of contraceptive users and potential users, as well as barriers to use. Two key indicators—contraceptive prevalence and unmet need—provide some insight into the numbers and types of contraceptive users and potential users; however, both …
