Abstract
BackgroundResearch in Kenya has focussed on family planning from women’s perspectives, with the aim of helping reduce the burden of unintended pregnancies. As such, the determinants of modern contraceptive use among sexually active women are well documented. However, the perspectives of men should be considered not only as women’s partners, but also as individuals with distinct reproductive histories and desires of their own. This study seeks to understand the determinants of modern contraceptive use among sexually active men, by exploring factors that are correlated with modern contraceptive use.MethodsThe data source is the nationally representative 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) of men aged 15–54 years. The analysis is restricted to 9,514 men who reported being sexually active in the past 12 months prior to the survey, as they were likely to report either doing something or not to avoid or delay pregnancy. We use bivariate and multinomial logistic regression to assess factors that influence modern contraceptive use among sexually active men.ResultsFindings from the bivariate and multinomial logistic regression indicate that region of residence, marital status, religion, wealth, interaction with a health care provider, fertility preference, number of sexual partners and access to media were all significantly associated with modern contraceptive use among sexually active men.ConclusionProvider-client interaction as well as dissemination of information through mass media has the potential to increase knowledge and uptake of modern contraceptives. Similar efforts targeting segments of the population where contraceptive uptake is low are recommended.
Highlights
Research in Kenya has focussed on family planning from women’s perspectives, with the aim of helping reduce the burden of unintended pregnancies
Married women from urban areas were found to have a contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) of 62% while those from rural areas were at 55%, and married women with secondary education or Ochako et al Reproductive Health (2017) 14:56 higher had a CPR of 65% while those with no education were at 18%
The FP2020 2015–2016 progress report shows that the unmet need for contraception for Kenya stands at 20.1% [3], another indication that steady progress is being made towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 3, ‘ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes by 2030’ [4]
Summary
Research in Kenya has focussed on family planning from women’s perspectives, with the aim of helping reduce the burden of unintended pregnancies. Similar findings have been documented in other sub-Saharan Africa countries including research from Ghana that showed increasing trends in contraceptive use when analysing data from 5 consecutive Ghana Demographic Health Surveys between 1988 and 2008, and residence as well as education being key determinants of contraceptive use [2]. The FP2020 2015–2016 progress report shows that the unmet need for contraception for Kenya stands at 20.1% [3], another indication that steady progress is being made towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 3, ‘ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes by 2030’ [4]
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