Abstract
BackgroundFamily planning programs increasingly aim to encourage men to be involved in women’s reproductive health decision-making as well as support men to be active agents of change for their own and the couple’s reproductive health needs. This study contributes to this area of work by examining men’s exposure to family planning (FP) program activities in urban Senegal and determining whether exposure is associated with reported FP use and discussion of family planning with female partners.MethodsThis study uses data from two cross-sectional surveys of men in four urban sites of Senegal (Dakar, Pikine, Guédiawaye, Mbao). In 2011 and 2015, men ages 15–59 in a random sample of households from study clusters were approached and asked to participate in a survey about their fertility and family planning experiences. These data were used to determine the association between exposure to the Initiative Sénégalaise de Santé Urbaine (in English: Senegal Urban Reproductive Health Initiative) family planning program interventions with men’s reported modern family planning use and their reported discussion of FP with their partners. Since data come from the same study clusters at each time period, fixed effects methods at the cluster level allowed us to control for possible program targeting by geographic area.ResultsMultivariate models demonstrate that religious leaders speaking favorably about family planning, seeing FP messages on the television, hearing FP messages on the radio, and exposure to community outreach activities with a FP focus (e.g., house to house and community religious dialogues) are associated with reported modern family planning use and discussion of family planning with partners among men in the four urban sites of Senegal.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that it is possible to reach men with FP program activities in urban Senegal and that these activities are positively associated with reported FP behaviors.
Highlights
This study contributes to this area of work by examining men’s exposure to family planning (FP) program activities in urban Senegal and determining whether exposure is associated with reported FP use and discussion of family planning with female partners
In 2011 and 2015, men ages 15–59 in a random sample of households from study clusters were approached and asked to participate in a survey about their fertility and family planning experiences. These data were used to determine the association between exposure to the Initiative Senegalaise de Sante Urbaine family planning program interventions with men’s reported modern family planning use and their reported discussion of FP with their partners
This study demonstrates that it is possible to reach men with FP program activities in urban Senegal and that these activities are positively associated with reported FP behaviors
Summary
Prior to the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), family planning (FP) efforts almost exclusively focused on delivery of clinical services to women [1, 2]. A more recent review of evidence of changing gender norms among men to improve reproductive health outcomes demonstrates that programs that use a gender-transformative approach (i.e., promote gender-equitable relationships between women and men) and those that include multiple components were the most successful [9]. Social marketing generally increases men’s access to contraceptives whereas outreach by male motivators can improve men’s knowledge and attitudes, address community norms around FP use, as well as increase access to methods [11]. The Malawi Male Motivator project is an example of a peer-led program that used a randomized evaluation design to demonstrate that engaging men and promoting couple communication lead to greater reported family planning uptake among men [12]. This study contributes to this area of work by examining men’s exposure to family planning (FP) program activities in urban Senegal and determining whether exposure is associated with reported FP use and discussion of family planning with female partners
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
