<p>Use of Modern Contraceptive Methods in Burkina Faso: What are the Obstacles to Male Involvement in Improving Indicators in the Centre-East and Centre-North Regions?</p>

Abstract

Introduction: In Burkina Faso, despite several efforts to improve contraceptive uptake, contraceptive prevalence remains low. Studies suggest that the low levels of family planning (FP) practices can be partially attributed to the low participation of men in reproductive health programmes. Involving men in FP programmes in Burkina Faso is thus imperative, but the obstacles to this are poorly documented. This study has two objectives to explore the perspectives of men and women on barriers to contraceptive use and to identify the strategies to increase male involvement in family planning. Methods: It is a qualitative study using 20 focus groups and 52 in-depth individual interviews in two regions (North Central Region and Central East Region) with a sample of 29 adult men and 23 women who were married and had children or not. Interviews were conducted in Moore (the national language commonly spoken in both regions). All interviews were recorded and transcribed into French using Microsoft Word. Then, content analysis was carried out using the constant comparison method to identify the major themes. Results: The results show that men's attitudes are still a significant barrier to women's use of modern contraceptives. The reasons women do not use contraception and men do not adhere to FP programmes include lack of method knowledge, negative beliefs and perceptions about modern contraceptive methods, and the side effects of contraceptives. Cultural norms and preferences for large families are also common barriers to FP. However, the results showed that men's awareness of FP, communication between spouses, and access to FP services can promote men's adherence to FP programmes in the Centre-East and Centre-North regions of Burkina Faso. Conclusion: Efforts should be made to improve educational standards, especially for men, and reorient FP services to make them more accessible to men.

Barriers to the participation of men in reproductive health care: a systematic review and meta-synthesis

“…To increase knowledge, access to information plays an important role. Studies found that inadequate knowledge about reproductive health issues and insufficient information about what is done at the reproductive health centers make men give up accepting their responsibilities to participate in reproductive health care [ 15 - 18 , 34 - 36 , 44 , 48 , 52 , 54 , 71 ]. Also, inadequate knowledge about the cause of men's participation in maternity services [ 16 , 59 ] and deficiency of knowledge about the advantages of male participation in health services [ 31 , 55 ] prevented men from participating in these services.…”

Fertility Regulation in Burkina Faso: Refusal to Impose a Fixed Number of Children per Woman, But Attitudes in Favour of Lower Fertility

“…Studies in Burkina Faso have shown that religious leaders are important opinion leaders. They have a strong influence on communities and can play a key role in informing the community about fertility behaviour, contraceptive use and FP (Bado et al, 2020;Barro & Bado, 2021). The study found that religious leaders overwhelmingly stated that the use of modern contraceptive methods is contrary to the principles of religion (Barro & Bado, 2021).…”

“…The study found that religious leaders overwhelmingly stated that the use of modern contraceptive methods is contrary to the principles of religion (Barro & Bado, 2021). Along with husbands, religious leaders are among those often cited as opposing the use of contraception among women (Bado et al, 2020). Also, the number of children a woman desires is also determined by cultural norms regarding the gender composition of children (Thi et al, 2020).…”

Religious Leaders’ Knowledge of Family Planning and Modern Contraceptive Use and Their Involvement in Family Planning Programmes in Burkina Faso: A Qualitative Study in Dori in the Sahel Region

“…In Ethiopia, religion was the main contextual factor influencing FP acceptance in the study community, and religious leaders’ perceptions and beliefs were a powerful influence in making this happen. 12 Other research on this subject in West Africa 30 and Burkina Faso 31 has found that religious leaders and men were barriers to using a FP methods. On the other hand, several Muslim religious thinkers have argued that, despite Prophet Mohamed’s exhortation to have many children, FP is permitted and even encouraged by Islamic law.…”