Determinants of Male Involvement in Family Planning Services: A Case Study in the Tema Metropolis, Ghana

Abstract

Background: Usage of family planning services in developing countries has been found to avert unintended pregnancies, and drastically reduce maternal and child mortality. Men as the main decision-makers in most of African families have an important role to play towards acceptance of family planning methods; however, its usage still remains low. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the factors that influence male involvement in family planning. Method: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted within the Tema Metropolis in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The chosen research approach provided an opportunity to interact with adult male respondents to access their perceived factors that contribute to their level of involvement in family planning programs. A stratified sampling technique was used to recruit 227 participants aged (19 - 58) years using a well-structured questionnaire. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses were respectively conducted to estimate frequencies, measure the level of associations and predict outcomes on selected variables outputs. Results: The study revealed that a little over two-thirds (68.72%) of the respondents disagreed that total family planning is an issue for only women. The majority (83.26%) of the respondents, said their communities accept the act of men accompanying their wives or partners for family planning services, though 36.12% of them reported that their family and friends see it strange for men to attend family planning with their wives/partners. Among the 34.4% of respondents who reported ever attending any such family planning clinic, 56.41% have attended just once. Marital status, employment status and knowledge about family planning of respondents were positively associated with male involvement in family planning (p-value < 0.05). The odds of a male involvement in family planning progressively increase in relationship to the depth of knowledge one has on family planning. However, being old (46 - 58 yrs), unmarried and self employed, significantly served as protective factors against male participation in family planning. Conclusion: In this study, the level of male involvement was low, although most men were aware of family planning in the Tema Municipal. Old age, being unmarried and self-employed were the factors that influence male involvement in family planning. Thus, there is a need for the office of the Metro Health Directorate to intensify health education on the benefits of family planning with male involvement. The family planning programs should incorporate the responsibility and role of males in the uptake of family planning service