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Abstract Introduction In recent decades, the foreign population in Spain has increased significantly, particularly for Catalonia, an autonomous region of Spain (2.90% in 2000 and 15.95% in 2010) and in particular Girona province (6.18% in 2000 and 21.55% in 2010). Several studies have shown a lower use of family planning methods by immigrants. This same trend is observed in Spain. The objective of this paper is to determine the existence of differences and possible sources of inequity in the use of family planning methods among health service users in Catalonia (Spain) by sex, health status, place of birth and socioeconomic conditions. Methods Data were taken from an ad-hoc questionnaire which was compiled following a qualitative stage of individual interviews. Said questionnaire was administered to 1094 Catalan public health service users during 2007. A complete descriptive analysis was carried out for variables related to public health service users’ sociodemographic characteristics and variables indicating knowledge and use of family planning methods, and bivariate relationships were analysed by means of chi-square contrasts. Considering the use (or non-use) of family planning methods as a dependent variable and a set of demographic, socioeconomic and health status variables as explanatory factors, the relationship was modelled using mixed models. Results The analysed sample is comprised of 54.3% women and 45.7% men, with 74.3% natives (or from the EU) and 25.7% economic immigrants. 54.8% use some method of family planning, the condom (46.7%) and the pill (28.0%) being the two most frequently used methods. Statistical modelling indicates that those factors which most influence the use of family planning methods are level of education (30.59% and 39.29% more likelihood) and having children over 14 (35.35% more likelihood). With regard to the origin of the user, we observe that patients from North Africa,sub. Saharan Africa and Asia are less likely to use family planning methods (36.68%, 38.59% and 70.51%, respectively). Conclusions The use of family planning methods is positively related to a higher level of education and having children over 14. Factors such as sex, age, income and self-perceived health do not appear to influence their use. Furthermore, being a native of this country, the European Union or Central/South America represents a greater likelihood of use than being African or Asian. Although no general differences in use were found between sexes, the difference found in the case of Asian women stands out, with a higher likelihood of use.

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Copyright of Revista Facultad de Ciencias Economicas: Investigacion y Reflexion is the property of Revista Facultad de Ciencias Economicas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article presents an empirical comparative assessment of the measurement quality of two instruments commonly used to measure fuzzy characteristics in computer-assisted questionnaires: a graphic scale (a line production scale using a slider bar) and an endecanary scale (a 0–10 rating scale using radio buttons). Data are analyzed by means of multitrait–multimethod models estimated as structural equation models with a mean and covariance structure. For the first time in such research, the results include bias, valid variance, method variance, and random error variance. The data are taken from a program that assesses entrepreneurial competences in undergraduate Economics and Business students by means of questionnaires administered on desktop computers. Neither of the measurement instruments was found to be biased with respect to the other, meaning that their scores are comparable. While both instruments achieve valid and reliable measurements, the reliability and validity are higher for the endecanary scale. This study contributes to the still scarce literature on fuzzy measurement instruments and on the comparability and relative merits of graphic and discrete rating scales on computer-assisted questionnaires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]