Attitude of reproductive age women towards male involvement in family planning; a community-based cross-sectional study in Nakawa Division, Kampala, Uganda

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundIn African countries, men are often the primary decision-makers and that have a significant influence on their spouse’s health and access to health care including family planning (FP) decisions. This study aimed to assess the attitude of women in Nakawa Division, Kampala, Uganda towards male involvement in FP and the associated factors.MethodsThis was a community-based cross-sectional study carried out in Nakawa Division, Kampala, Uganda. A total of 480 women aged 18-49 years were selected as participants for the study using multi-stage sampling. A semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect information from the participants. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS version 22. Data were described using frequency and percentage while associations were assessed using logistic regression analysis at P<0.05.ResultsA total of 485 participants with mean age of 28.29±6.57 years were involved in this study; 197(41.0%) were aged 26-33 years, 399 (83.1%) were Christians, 240(50.0%) had attained secondary school education and 239(49.8%) of their partners had attained tertiary education. The most utilized contraceptives among the women were injectables 151(32.5%), pills 122(26.2%), condoms 76(16.3%), implants 37(8%) and calendar method 30(6.5%). More, 302/465(62.9%) of the women had adequate partner involvement in their FP and a total of 438/480 (91.3%) of the participants had favorable attitude of women toward male involvement in FP. After adjusting for confounders, participants with an average monthly income of 600,000/= and above were more likely to have favorable attitude towards male involvement in FP (AOR=10.51, 95% CI {1.19−93.25}, p=0.035) compared with those earning 0-100,000/= average monthly income per month. Also, participants with adequate male partner involvement in FP/contraceptive use were more likely to have favorable attitude towards male involvement in FP (AOR=2.78, 95% CI {1.23−6.30, p<0.014)ConclusionThe study found high favourable attitude of women towards male partner involvement at FP. The average monthly income of participants and male involvement were predictors of favourable attitude towards male involvement in FP. This finding indicates the need for increased sensitization of the men as a means of attaining the broader objective of increasing male partner involvement in FP for better contraceptive use and better birth spacing.