The use of Method Information Index (MII) to monitor the amount of information given to women users of modern contraceptives in Indonesia: results from an analysis of the 2007, 2012 and 2017 demographic and health surveys

Background: The use of Method Information Index (MII) indicates whether women contraceptive users receive adequate information about all available contraceptive methods, side effects of the methods, and how to deal with the side effects if experienced—at method initiation. Objective: This study aims to investigate the level of MII scores or the amount of information received by married women users of five modern contraceptives at the time of initiation and changes of its determinants based on the Indonesian Demographic and Health data between 2007 and 2017. Methods: Data of married women who used most common five modern contraceptive methods (the pill, injectables, implants, IUD, and female sterilization), comprised of a total unweighted sample of 35,412 users out of the 32,895; 45,607 and 49,627 women aged 15–49 in the 2007, 2012, and 2017 Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS), respectively. The Method Information Index (MII) scores were calculated based on responses to three questions (whether women were told about method‐specific side effects, advised what to do if they experienced them, and informed about other available methods). Multivariable logistic regressions with ‘time’ as an interaction variable were used to assess the influence of time upon the MII scores and its determinants. Results: The MII scores were 23.84% in 2007, 24.60% in 2012 and 28.65% in 2017. Obviously, over 70% of reproductive-age women contraceptive users were not receiving complete information about modern contraceptives at the time of initiation. After 5 years (2012), only living in the Java Bali region (AOR = 1.34, 95% CI 1.09–1.66) compared to living in other islands, and currently using injectables (AOR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.10–1.87) and currently using implants (AOR = 1.68, 95% CI 1.07–2.63) compared to currently using pills had significantly higher odds of receiving MII information. After 10 years (2017), only one variable (the ‘richest’ in the wealth quintile category (AOR = 0.70, 95% CI 0.50–0.99) compared to the ‘poorest’) still showed a significant association with receipt of complete MII information. Conclusions: Despite the fact that the MII scores increased gradually across the years, interaction with ‘survey time’ showed that the likelihood of receiving complete MII information was not statistically different in the 5 years (2007–2012) and in the 10 years (2007–2017) period from the reference category in 2007. The authors recommend use of the MII score as an objective measure to evaluate access to MII essential information and to monitor an increase in the informed population in Indonesia.