Assessment of the Role of Men in Family Planning Utilization at Edaga-Hamuse Town, Tigray, North Ethiopia

Abstract

Back Ground: Family planning is a key for slowing unsustainable population growth and the resulting negative impacts on the economy, environment, and national and regional development efforts. Men are also recognized to be responsible for the large proportion of ill reproductive health Suffered by their female partners. In addition; male involvement helps not only in accepting a contraceptive but also in its effective use and continuation. But men involvement in family planning at the study setting is rarely known. Objectives: To assess male involvement in Family planning utilization at Edaga-Hamuse town, Tigray, North Ethiopia. Methods: A Community based analytical cross-sectional study design was conducted, from August 27, 2014 up to September, 15, 2014. Population of married couples in selected households available during the study period was included in the study. The data was collected using pre-tested self-administered questionnaires. The findings of the study was summarized and presented using tables, descriptive measures and statistical diagrams. The data editing and clearance was done on the same software. Finally, the data was taken to SPSS version 16.0 for the final analysis. And P-value was used. Result: More than 99% of the subjects have heard about modern family planning methods/current contraceptive use. The most commonly mentioned 114(38.8%) of modern family planning methods was pills and followed by 91(30.9%) was inject able. The rate of current contraceptive use is significantly higher for those women with between 3-4 births or having between 1-3 live children (34.3%; n=101) and (25.5%; n=75) respectively. Of the participants 78(26.5%) were used Pills by need of 3-4 children ever born. The result shows that the more than half of the subjects (60.7%; n=176) did get married between 21-28 years old. The result shows that the more than half of the subjects (59%; n=170) had experienced in pregnancy terminated with Abortion (By asking Husband's experience of their wife). Conclusion and recommendation: of the subjects had never been involved themselves in FP with their wife and this may be attributed to negative perceptions recorded among them. More research with larger groups is needed to generalize this result. The majority of the subjects had never been involved themselves in FP with their wife and this may be attributed to negative perceptions recorded among them.