Male Involvement in Family Planning in the Bekwai Municipality

Abstract

Introduction: Family planning is a voluntary and informed decision by an individual or couple on the number of children to have and when to have them, by use of modern or natural FP methods. Most available studies have revealed low patronage by males. This study sought to explore male involvement in family planning in the Bekwai Municipality. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to explore male involvement in family planning in the Bekwai Municipality. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a total of 534 respondents using a structured questionnaire. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 was used for analysis of data. A composite variable was generated to assess male involvement in Family Planning (FP), knowledge level and level of perception on FP. Associations between variables were determined using chi square test and logistic regression. Results: Perception about male involvement about FP was good (86.7%). Male involvement in FP was low as 35% of the respondents did not involve themselves in FP activities. Male involvement in Family Planning was influenced by; knowledge on FP importance of family planning [χ2=6.06, p= 0.014], distance to get FP services [χ2= 5.22, p=0.022] and means of access to FP services [χ2= 15.67, p<0.000]. Conclusion: Male involvement in family planning in the Bekwai Municipality was low even though participants had good perception of family planning. Knowledge on importance of family planning among men, distance to family planning clinics and means of access to FP services were the factors identified in this study to be influencing male involvement in family planning.