Reviewer’s report
Title: 
Relationship Between Women’s Decision-Making Power Over Their Own
Health Care and Use of Modern Contraception in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo: A Cross-Sectional Secondary Data Analysis
Version: 
1 
Date: 
19 Jan 2021
Reviewer's report:
PEER REVIEWER ASSESSMENTS: 
OBJECTIVE - Full research articles: is there a clear objective that addresses a
testable research question(s) (brief or other article types: is there a clear
objective)?
No - there are major issues
DESIGN - Is the current approach (including controls and analysis protocols)
appropriate for the objective?
No - there are minor issues
EXECUTION - Are the experiments and analyses performed with technical rigor
to allow confidence in the results?
No - there are minor issues
STATISTICS - Is the use of statistics in the manuscript appropriate?
No - there are issues with the statistics in the study
INTERPRETATION - Is the current interpretation/discussion of the results
reasonable and not overstated?
No - there are minor issues
OVERALL MANUSCRIPT POTENTIAL - Is the current version of this work
technically sound? If not, can revisions be made to make the work technically
sound?
Maybe - with major revisions
PEER REVIEWER COMMENTS: 
GENERAL COMMENTS: 
The topic of this study is a common one that has been studied severally but is
still important given the importance of access to contraception. The conceptual
framework of the study, however, needs to be refined and focused, as now it is
quite diverse. Authors should consider focusing the study to socio-demographic
factors associated with use of modern contraceptives in DRC. Study design is not
a cross-sectional study but rather historical analysis of DHS data. The most
recent DHS data should be used; the data used is rather old and may not apply
currently. Statistical analysis needs to focus on the variables under study.
REQUESTED REVISIONS: 
Re-conceptualize the study to focus on factors associated with uptake of MC in
DRC; use most recent DHS; change study design to historical analysis of DHS
data; Limit statistical analysis to testing your hypothesis--no need analyzing data
for variables that do not answer study objective.
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Is the study design appropriate to answer the research question (including the use
of appropriate controls), and are the conclusions supported by the evidence
presented?
No
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No
Is the use of statistics and treatment of uncertainties appropriate?
No
Is the presentation of the work clear?
Yes
Are the images in this manuscript (including electrophoretic gels and blots) free
from apparent manipulation?
Yes