[Unmet need for contraception in the racialized population in Colombia: analysis of the results of the 2015 National Demographic and Health Survey].

Abstract

This article analyzes the results of the 2015 National Demographic and Health Survey (ENDS, acronym in Spanish) of Colombia, to establish the effect of different proxy variables of socioeconomic conditions on the risk of presenting unmet need for contraception. By comparing the population that self-identifies with some ethnic-racial belonging and that which does not identify as such, the study aimed to compare the prevalence of unmet need in contraception according to socioeconomic characteristics and to analyze socioeconomic factors that are significantly related to the risk of showing this unmet need. Based on multivariate regression models and machine learning, variables such as the region people live, the wealth index, the educational level, and the occupation of the women surveyed, marital status, and age, are contributing factors for unmet need for contraception. Moreover, belonging to a racialized population is an additional risk factor, which intersects with the inequities derived from the socioeconomic conditions mentioned above, and makes people from these communities especially vulnerable to the guarantee of access to contraceptive options, and therefore to the guarantee of their rights in sexual and reproductive health.