Awareness and use of family planning methods among men in Mista Ali District, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Meeting the health-care needs of a rapidly expanding population is one of the biggest challenges facing Nigeria, and contraceptive use, at 16%, is low. Aims: This study aimed to assess the knowledge and use of family planning methods among men in Mista Ali District, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria Methods: A descriptive design was used, and a total of 172 respondents took part in the study. A questionnaire was used to collect data. Results: 98.8% of the respondents were aware of family planning. The most-heard-of contraceptive method was the male condom (reported by 85.5% of respondents), which was also the most-used method (93.5%). Level of education significantly influenced the use of any family planning method by the men. Conclusions: A broader range of activities towards educating men should be undertaken.

Awareness and utilization of contraceptives among males of reproductive age, Jos North, Plateau state, Nigeria

“…These findings are in keeping with other surveys carried out in Nigeria. 7,13,15 Studies in Uganda and South Africa also corroborated with findings in this research of a high awareness of condom for the purpose of contraception. 17,18 A recent survey carried out in the USA revealed that males believed that other types of contraceptives were the responsibility of women and condoms were the men's responsibility.…”

“…This is similar to studies carried out in other Low and Middle-income countries where less than half of the study population used contraceptives. 9,13,14 In our study, condoms had the highest frequency of use compared to other contraceptive types. Similarly, a study done in Pakistan showed that less than half of the couples were currently using contraceptive methods.…”

“…Mass media has been found to play a vital role in disseminating relevant information regarding contraceptive and to encourage behavioural change as revealed in this study and similar to other studies at State and National levels. 7,13 Condoms (male and/or female) were the contraceptives which had the highest awareness in this study. It is very likely that in using the mass media as an intervention to curb the HIV/AIDS spread it also promoted the message of family planning.…”

“…Studies in Nigeria have shown that both males and females have high levels of contraceptive awareness ranging from 89-98% as recorded in Osun, Lagos and Plateau States. [13][14][15] However, a study carried out in Enugu State revealed that just about half of the respondents were aware of contraceptives. 16 They ascribed this difference to the place of residence and level of education of the respondents where majority were rural dwellers and had low education unlike in this study.…”

“…The sample size was calculated using the Cochrane formula where the prevalence of utilization of contraceptives among adult males from a previous study in Mista Ali, Bassa LGA Plateau State (62.8%) was used. 13 Sample size calculated was 400 after adjusting for non-response. The study population were adult males of reproductive age residing in Jenta Apata, Jos North LGA.…”