Abstract:
Background
Despite the benefits of contraceptives, its usage by men is minimal especially in low and middle income countries. Many epidemiological studies have reported contraceptive usage amongst women but there is paucity of data on contraceptive usage by men. Therefore, this study was aimed at determining the prevalence of contraceptive usage, the types of contraceptives frequently used and factors influencing contraceptive usage amongst men in Awutu Senya east municipality.
Methods
This was a cross-sectional descriptive study involving men only from Kasoa-Ofaakor in the Awutu Senya East municipality. Data were collected on socio-demographic characteristics and contraceptive usage using a face to face semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was done to determine the prevalence of contraceptive usage and the types of contraceptives used by men while multivariate analysis was performed to determine factors influencing contraceptive usage.
Results
A total of 385 men with mean age of 35 years were included in this study. The prevalence of contraceptive usage amongst men was 51.7% (95% CI: 46.7-56.7). Older men (aged > 50 years) reported lower levels of contraceptive usage compared to the younger men (aged 18-28 years) [OR=0.32; (95% CI: 0.117-0.875); p=0.026]. The level of contraceptive usage significantly increased with increasing level of education. Muslims reported lower levels of contraceptive usage compared to Christians [OR=0.56; (95% CI: 0.32-0.97); p=0.037]. Male health workers [OR=5.17; (95% CI: 1.66-16.04); p=0.005] reported higher levels of contraceptive usage while Zoom lion workers [OR=0.12; (95% CI: 0.04-0.28); p<0.001] reported lower levels of contraceptive usage compared to teachers.
Conclusion
Even though contraceptive usage remains crucial to family planning amongst couples and its practice prevents unintended pregnancies and abortion, its usage was low in the Awutu Senya East Municipality. However the benefits of contraceptive usage are enormous amongst families and communities. Therefore male-involvement in family planning initiatives and sensitization campaigns should increase the participation of men in reproductive health.
