Factors Associated with Male Involvement in Family Planning in West Pokot County, Kenya

Dennis Butto,Samuel Mburu

doi:10.13189/ujph.2015.030404

Abstract

The Contraceptive Prevalence Rate for West Pokot County is estimated to be at a low of 23% compared to the national prevalence which stands at 43%. This analytic cross sectional study was aimed at establishing the male factors associated with family planning in West Pokot County, Kenya. A total of 266 married men were involved and household was the unit of analysis. The findings of this study demonstrated that 48% of the respondents were not involved at all in family planning and only 6% of men were using a family planning method. The age of respondents, educational level, number of children, and type of marriage, knowledge and ease of access to family planning services were all significantly associated with male involvement. Having no education made a man 89% less likely to be highly involved in family planning (OD 0.117; 95% CI: 0.03-0.454). The study concludes that the level of male involvement in family planning in the county is still low despite interventions both by the government and other nongovernmental organizations. Therefore, more efforts should be made to improve education standards especially for men and to reorient family planning services to make them more accessible to men.

Highlights

Planning is getting a child by choice and not by mere chance
This study explored membership to a social group, religion and types of marriage as the main social factors that could be associated with male involvement in family planning
The study concludes that the level of male involvement in family planning in the county is still low despite interventions both by the government and other nongovernmental organizations in trying to increase the prevalence of family planning

Summary

Introduction

Planning is getting a child by choice and not by mere chance. It involves a conscious decision on size of the family and the spacing between the children. 1,600 women and more than 10,000 new-borns die from preventable complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Almost 99% of these maternal and 90% of neonatal deaths occur in the developing countries. As the first pillar of safe motherhood and an essential component of primary health care, family planning plays a major role in reducing maternal and new-born morbidity and mortality. Planning enhances efforts to improve family health. Traditional beliefs, religious barriers and lack of male involvement have weakened family planning interventions [1]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion