Publication:
Shared Decision-Making: Can Improved Counseling Increase Willingness to Pay for Modern Contraceptives?

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Date
2021-09
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Published
2021-09
Author(s)
Athey, Susan
Bergstrom, Katy
Hadad, Vitor
Jamison, Julian C.
Parisotto, Luca
Sama, Julius Dohbit
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Abstract
Long-acting reversible contraceptives are highly effective in preventing unintended pregnancies, but take-up remains low. This paper analyzes a randomized controlled trial of interventions addressing two barriers to long-acting reversible contraceptive adoption, credit, and informational constraints. The study offered discounts to the clients of a women’s hospital in Yaoundé, Cameroon, and cross-randomized a counseling strategy that encourages shared decision-making using a tablet-based app that ranks modern methods. Discounts increased uptake by 50 percent, with larger effects for adolescents. Shared decision-making tripled the share of clients adopting a long-acting reversible contraceptive at full price, from 11 to 35 percent, and discounts had no incremental impact in this group.
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Athey, Susan; Bergstrom, Katy; Hadad, Vitor; Jamison, Julian C.; Ozler, Berk; Parisotto, Luca; Sama, Julius Dohbit. 2021. Shared Decision-Making: Can Improved Counseling Increase Willingness to Pay for Modern Contraceptives?. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9777. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36304 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
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