Telehealth Intervention for Social Behavioral Change Communication Toward Enhanced Partner Conversations on Family Planning Among Men: A Qualitative Analysis of a Pilot Project in Uganda.

Abstract

Background: Lack of credible sexual partner dialog and support regarding family planning (FP) and other sexual reproductive health issues is a major impediment to contraception service uptake and utilization. This study examined the feasibility and acceptability of attitudes toward using telehealth for remote education of couples through behavioral, motivational, and informational messaging on FP methods and its eventual impact on partner conversations around FP. Methods: The study was conducted in Kampala, Uganda, and involved recruiting 450 men from diverse settings. These men received regular SMS content on FP and sexual and reproductive health for a duration of 6 months. The content aimed to provide information and motivation while serving as a resource for discussions with their spouses. Following the main quantitative study, a qualitative follow-up study was conducted with a subset of 15 randomly selected men. In-depth interviews were conducted with these men to gain deeper insights into their experiences and perspectives. Results: The study revealed positive outcomes where men reported improved knowledge of FP methods such as child spacing, and types of contraception. The messaging prompted discussions with spouses on family size and spousal support. Couples reported a shift toward viewing FP as a joint responsibility, with some couples even taking concrete actions. The findings suggested that telehealth interventions can promote social and behavioral change and can improve couple communication and male involvement in FP decisions in Uganda. Conclusion: The study found that using telehealth messaging to educate men about FP in Uganda successfully improved communication between couples on the topic.