MALE INVOLVEMENT IN FAMILY PLANNING AND SPOUSAL CONTRACEPTIVE USE IN KALABARI COMMUNITIES

Abstract

This study investigated male involvement in family planning and spousal contraceptive use in Kalabari. Thirteen research questions and 8 hypotheses guided the study. A descriptive correlational research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of all males aged 15 to 69 years in Rivers State. A sample size of 600 men was selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure. The instrument for data collection titled "Male Involvement in Family Planning and Spousal Contraceptive Use Questionnaire (MIFPSCUQ) adapted from three inventories was used”. The reliability coefficient of the instrument ranged from 0.765 to 0.867. Percentage and Pearson contingency correlation coefficient were used to answer research questions. Binary logistic regression was used to test hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study showed the prevalence of spousal contraceptive use rate of 54.5%. The findings of the study also indicated that Males were less involved in family planning (44.7%).In addition, the findings of the study showed a positive moderate relationship between male involvement and spousal contraceptive use (C=.320; p<0.05). It was concluded that male involvement in family planning is a significant predictor of spousal contraceptive use in Rivers State. The study recommended among others Health Education practitioners should include male involvement in family planning as part of the family planning intervention programmes to increase spousal contraceptive uptake.