Consumer’s Market
for Family Planning
(CM4FP)

Understanding the dynamics
between the supply and demand
sides of the FP market

There are many holes in our collective knowledge around how and why consumers engage with the family planning (FP) market.

Through the  Consumer’s Market for Family Planning Project (CM4FP), we’re aiming to fill some of these key gaps, and make our data and documentation available for researchers, policy makers and implementers to access and use.

Bridging the
evidence gap

CM4FP tested the feasibility and utility of a range of novel approaches to capture supply and demand side information on the total FP markets across 12 (primarily urban) sites in Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda.

CM4FP aimed to capture both the FP supply environments to which consumers have access, and consumers’ experience of them through multi-round longitudinal FP outlet censuses with accompanying repeated surveys among women within the same locations. This design allowed us to revisit the same outlets and women in the study sites for greater insight into changes over time. Specifically:

The outlet study employed a ring-fenced approach consisting of outer ring areas in which a complete outlet census and product audit was conducted. 

This was immediately followed by a cross-sectional household survey among users to capture their perceptions and experiences of obtaining family planning from an inner ring (a smaller area located entirely within the outlet census area).

The study design allows for directly linking FP users to the individual outlets where they obtained their most recent FP method and to the outlets within their immediate vicinity. Euclidian distances (point to point) and modeled travel times between all households and outlets in each site were calculated and accompany the survey data.

3 ways the data
are unique

  1. A complete census of all FP outlets
    The study aimed to identify every service delivery point offering more than just male condoms.
  2. Longitudinal follow-up: FP outlets were audited on a quarterly basis to capture changes in product availability/accessibility over the study period.
  3. Linkages between women and the FP service environment: Respondents can be linked directly to their most recently visited FP outlet, or indirectly to nearby outlets to assess geographic access, outlet choice and bypassing behaviors, and other demand-and supply-side interactions.

The CM4FP study was implemented by PSI in collaboration with Population Services Kenya, Society for Family Health in Nigeria and PSI Uganda, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

DATA VISUALIZATION
PREVIEWS

Below you will find three charts that provide a visualized preview of what is offered in the
CM4FP datasets. Please select from the buttons below to view your graphic of interest
and use the filters  that interest you.

Distance from Home to Most Recent FP Source
Straight line distance from woman’s home to her most recent FP source
Key Takeaway: Median distance from a consumer's home to her most recent source of FP varied by method, although these differences in distance were small in some settings.
KEY
Characteristics of Most Recent FP Visit
Primary reason for selecting outlet, type of outlet, and FP method obtained during most recent visit
Key Takeaway: Proximity and service quality were top considerations driving consumers' choice of their most recent FP source, yet other considerations mattered more for many consumers.
Method Stock Patterns Over Time
Number of outlets exhibiting stockout patterns for individual FP methods across quarterly data collection rounds
Key Takeaway: Analyzing stock status in the aggregate masks change at the level of individual outlets. Many outlets alternated between having short-term methods in and out of stock.
KEY

What can CM4FP
do FOR ME?

The study provides researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with publicly accessible data and resources for understanding how FP markets operate, and fill gaps in knowledge about how consumers experience and respond to FP market supply-side issues.

Key questions that can be explored with this data.

How far do women live from the outlet where they last obtained FP as compared to other outlets in the study area? How do outlet characteristics and product offerings compare? What assumptions about outlet proximity and access can be tested?

What factors did women take into consideration when choosing an outlet or FP method? Did any additional factors influence their choice during their most recent visit? How do women’s perceptions of the family planning market in their vicinity relate to her most recent family planning outlet source? Can outlet census information provide additional insights into our understanding of women’s decision making around outlet selection?  

What products are offered, available, or stocked out at different categories of outlets? How does product availability change over time within outlets? Can outlet census information provide additional insights for how product availability can be measured efficiently, and can this approach be adapted to different levels of geographic coverage and resources?

ACCESS
THE DATA

01
Asset 17

HOUSEHOLD (HH)
DATA

Data contains interviews with women aged 18-49 years using the household questionnaire.

02
Asset 26

OUTLET
DATA

Data contains outlet census data, including product audit data, using the outlet and CHW questionnaires.

03

DISTANCE & TIME
FROM LINKED DATA

Data contains modelled distances and travel times between all interviewed households and outlets in each site.

An overview of key topics and additional research questions that can be
explored with the CM4FP data are outlined in the Future Analysis Guide.

Additional
Study Materials

Future analysis guide

This guide is a starting point for users of the data to understand its potential for future analysis

Study Protocols

CM4FP study protocols and IRB approval information

Study Questionnaires

CM4FP  community health worker, household and outlet survey questionnaires 

DATA CODEBOOKS

Data codebooks for household and outlet datasets

User feedback
on data errors

The CM4FP Study Team is committed to providing users with accurate and well-documented data that facilitates future analysis and data use. If you believe that you have identified a potential error in variable coding, labeling, documentation, or any other aspect of the data, we encourage you to contact us at [email protected] so that it can be corrected.

Methodology
Considerations

Note, the data has been de-identified to protect the identify of respondents. The study has a primarily urban focus and is not intended to be nationally or sub-nationally representative. Study sites were selected to capture localized family planning (FP) markets within larger areas. They were not designed to encompass the complete FP market in any specific city or larger geography as a whole.

GIS Methodology

Managing disclosure risk in CM4FP spatial data, approaches, and consequences for spatial analysis.

This brief explores the varieties of spatial data associated with CM4FP data, the disclosure risk associated with each one, and presents the approach that CM4FP has taken to maximize the analytic utility of the data while fulfilling necessary ethical obligations.

Time and Distance Measurement Methods: CM4FP spatial data models and assumptions

This brief outlines the approach taken to calculate the time and distance measures of geographic accessibility from households to outlets in the CM4FP project. Euclidian and least cost measures have been provided to maximize the future analytical potential of our GIS data while protecting anonymity of household survey respondents.

Hypothetical illustration
of inner and outer rings


PUBLICATIONS

Differences in contraceptive prices between and within family planning outlets in urban and semiurban Nigeria: a prospective cohort study

Using data from the Consumer’s Market for Family Planning study, a multicounty study that assessed contraceptive supply and demand, we aimed to understand the extent of pricing variability and volatility in contraceptive commodities in several urban and semiurban Nigerian settings. In addition to the well-documented large public–private differences in pricing of contraceptive commodities, this study describes complex markets for contraceptive products characterized by variable pricing within the private sector and volatility in minimum prices over short time periods.

Published in AJOG Global Reports, November 1, 2022.

LINKING FAMILY PLANNING MARKET CENSUS DATA WITH CONSUMER EXPERIENCES IN THREE COUNTRIES: THE CONSUMER’S MARKET FOR FAMILY PLANNING STUDY PROTOCOL AND DATA

This paper provides an overview of CM4FP’s study design and data. It discusses what the data contains and how it can be utilized by researchers. It summarizes and highlights aspects of study design that provide additional context to both existing and future analysis of this data.

Published in Gates Open Research, May 16, 2022.

COMPARING EMPIRICAL WITH SELF-REPORTED MEASURES OF TRAVEL TIME AND DISTANCE TO FAMILY PLANNING OUTLETS: MODELLING GEOGRAPHICAL ACCESSIBILITY IN KENYA

This paper compares self-reported travel times, and distance measures between outlets and households to draw conclusions from directly matched household and FP outlet data.

Published in BMJ Global Health, May 6 2022.

BIAS IN PRODUCT AVAILABILITY ESTIMATES FROM CONTRACEPTIVE OUTLET SURVEYS: EVIDENCE FROM THE CONSUMER’S MARKET FOR FAMILY PLANNING (CM4FP) STUDY

This paper examines a variety of outlet sampling approaches, including those used in family planning service delivery point surveys, and explores the risk of bias across indicators.

Published in PLOS ONE, August 30, 2022

UPCOMING
PUBLICATIONS

UNDERSTANDING MODERN CONTRACEPTIVE SUPPLY DYNAMICS: A LATENT CLASS ANALYSIS OF THE CM4FP PROJECT'S LONGITUDINAL OUTLET DATA FROM NIGERIA

This paper examines the extent of stock and price dynamics in local contraceptive supply markets. Latent transmission analysis is introduced as a methodology for identifying predictors for change in contraceptive stock status.

LINKING CONTRACEPTIVE USERS TO OUTLETS: INNOVATIONS AND CHALLENGES FROM THE CONSUMER’S MARKET FOR FAMILY PLANNING STUDY IN KENYA, NIGERIA AND UGANDA

This paper examines the feasibility of directly linking contraceptive users to service delivery points.

For general inquiries please email [email protected].