Male involvement in family planning use and associated factors among currently married men in rural Eastern Ethiopia

Introduction/Objectives: Male involvement in family planning refers to all organizational actions focused on men as a distinct group to increase the acceptability and uptake of family planning among either sex. Despite the growing evidence of male involvement in increasing family planning uptake among couples, a little success has been achieved in Ethiopia, especially in rural areas. Hence, this study aimed to assess male involvement in family planning and its associated factors among currently married men in selected rural areas of Eastern Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among 577 randomly selected currently married men, using a simple random sampling method in randomly selected rural districts of Eastern Ethiopia. Data were collected using a pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire. The collected data were entered into a computer using Epi-Data Version 3.1. The analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the social sciences software version 21. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the association between the dependent and independent variables. Finally, adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals at P-value < 0.05 was considered to be significantly associated with the outcome variable. Results: Out of 577, a total of, 555 married men were included in the study, resulting in a response rate of 96.2%. The magnitude of male involvement in family planning use was 59.3% (95% confidence interval: 47.1, 68. 2). Ever use of family planning by a spouse (adjusted odds ratio: 2.37; 95% confidence interval: 1.59, 3.52), ever discussion of spouse on sexual and reproductive health/family planning issues (adjusted odds ratio: 2.05; 95% confidence interval: 1.40, 3.02), and the husband's approval of family planning (adjusted odds ratio: 2.45; 95% confidence interval: 1.34, 4.96) were significantly associated with higher odds of male involvement in family planning use than their counterparts. Conclusion: The number of men involved in the family planning was low. Ever use of family planning methods by a spouse, ever discussion of spouse on sexual and reproductive health/family planning issues, and husband approval on family planning use were found to be important predictors of male involvement in family planning use. To improve modern family planning uptake among men and women, it is imperative to include men in family planning programs, such as family planning messaging, sensitizations, and services.