The role of men in contraceptive use and fertility preference in Hossana Town

Background: Family planning programs have always been considered as the interventions of choice for slowing population growth. These programs, however, are seen to give relatively little attention to the roles that could be played by men regarding fertility regulation. Consequently, there is a shortage of information on family planning knowledge, attitudes and practices among married men, and their fertility preferences in Ethiopia. Objective: The objective of this study hence, was to assess the role of men in contraceptive use and fertility preference among currently married men. Methods: The study used a community-based cross-sectional survey conducted from December 2003 to January 2004 in Hossana town, southern Ethiopia. A total of 773 currently married men in the age group of 20-64 years were included in the study. A total of nine Kebeles were selected from 15 Kebeles of the town using simple random sampling method. Study households were selected from each Kebele through systematic random sampling. Pre-tested, structured questionnaires were used for data collection. Results: The average number of living children per man was 3.8. The majority of the study participants (60.3%) reported wanting more children. About 91 % of the respondents were familiar with at least one of the family planning methods. The most commonly known methods of family planning included the pill (79.4%), injection (78.5%), mal