Married men's opinions and involvement regarding family planning in rural areas

As men play a prominent role in reproduction, it is therefore extremely useful to assess and encourage them to be involved in contraception, particularly in developing countries, where contraceptive goals have not been reached. This study was carried out in Kayseri, Turkey, in order to determine the attitudes and behavior of married men concerning family planning. A questionnaire was presented to 123 married men. In our study, 91.9% of men approved of family planning, but only 54.4% actually used any contraceptive methods; 66.7% of the men said that the decision should be a joint one, 66.4% wanted to limit their family size. Approximately one fourth of the men had never heard of voluntary sterilization. No one in the study group was aware of the mini-pill, diaphragm or Norplant. In the study group, 26.8% of the men did not want their wives to use intrauterine devices and 31.7% of them did not agree with women using the contraceptive pills. Among those unwilling to use a condom (46.3%), 70.1% stated that it might interrupt intercourse. If a contraceptive pill for males could be used, 25.2% of members of the group would be prepared to use it. Only 17.5% men in the study group had contacted a doctor or a health foundation to obtain information. The main sources of family planning information were TV/radio, followed by friends and newspapers/magazines. In order to encourage men's involvement in family planning, the use of mass media and continual training programs, to try to reach both men and women, could be very useful. © 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved