Abstract
The main objective of this paper was to model the relationship
between married women’s contraceptive use and the influence of
their male partners. The study took place in Angola and Zambia,
which stems from the fact that these countries ratified the Maputo
Protocol that emphasises promotion of reproductive health among
women. Most previous studies investigating women’s progress
towards the realisation of what is advocated in this protocol have
overlooked the role of the male partners. Hence, it has become
imperative to reduce this gap in the literature. This paper discusses
the application of spatial multilevel modelling, which incorporates
two levels of information based on the nature of the data available.
This approach acknowledges the hypothesis that contraceptive use
is a social phenomenon occurring within the geographical space
and is therefore susceptible to autocorrelation. Findings confirm
that the level of influence of male partners’ exertion on women’s
contraceptive use is dependent on the situation in the country
where it takes place as shown by various study variables analysed.
The results indicate that socioeconomic and education factors play
a major role, a phenomenon that calls for tailor-made reproductive
health policies considering these aspects.