Assessment of men involvement in family planning services use and associated factors in rural Ghana

Abstract

Background In low-and-middle income countries (LMICs) less attention is paid to men’s involvement in Family Planning (FP) programs where public health officials have advocated the involvement of men as a strategy for addressing the dismal performance of FP programs. The study assessed the involvement of men in FP use and the factors which promote or hinder the uptake of FP services among partners in a rural setting of northern Ghana. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was used to collect data from 200 respondents. Study respondents were selected through random cluster sampling. Results The findings showed that male partners’ knowledge (95.5%) and approval (72.8%) of FP services were high. About 48% of men were involved in FP service utilization. Having living children (aOR; 1.71(1.27, 2.15)) and being knowledgeable (aOR; 6.14(1.38, 10.90)) about FP were positively associated men’s involvement in FP service utilization. The findings also indicated that men had a higher propensity (X2 = 4.5534, p = 0.033) of supporting a FP method use. Women who reported that their spouse supported FP method use were more likely to use a contraceptive method (X2 = 9.5223, P = 0.002) if their spouse supported FP method use (X2 = 9.5223, P = 0.002) and if their partners had some education (X2 = 14.1133, P = 0.000). Reasons for low contraceptive use were health risks, side effects, and socio-cultural norms. Conclusion Family planning programs need to include men at all levels of health promotion and education of FP programs to help reduce misconceptions about contraceptive methods to increase acceptance and use among partners in rural settings of Ghana.

Factors associated with family planning use among refugee and host populations in Adjumani district, West Nile, Uganda: a comparative study

“…Thus, education is crucial to accelerate women empowerment for their health needs. This finding concurs with a study done by [ 34 – 36 ] who reported that socio cultural factors affect use of FP despite strong interest of individuals to use it because of low educational level and over believing in cultural norms.…”

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Educational Interventions in Family Planning for Men in Developing Countries: A Systematic Review

“…Previous studies have reported that approximately 59% and 42% of men in rural Ethiopia and in pastoralist communities, respectively, are involved in family planning (10) , (11) . Furthermore, 48% of men in rural Ghana reportedly participate in family planning services (12) . Factors related to men’s participation in family planning include communication with their spouses concerning sexual and reproductive health, family planning, and agreement with family planning (10) , (11) .…”