Male Partners Involvement in Spousal Contraceptive Use: A Perspective of a Contemporary African Setting

Zuwaira I Hassan, Tolulope O Afolaranmi, Mackpherson J Azuike, Olusoji S Omofolarin, Ketura A Misak, Oluwabunmi O Chirdan

Background: Contraceptive use by women is one of the tools used for promoting family health and slowing population growth. Evidence has suggested that contraceptive use in Nigeria is below acceptable levels in spite of the fact that family planning services are readily available, accessible and affordable. The involvement and participation of males in spousal contraceptive use is seen as the driver to achieving better reproductive outcomes. Hence, this study aimed to determine the level of male involvement in spousal contraceptive use so as to provide evidence based and people oriented information on the available male partner support system for contraceptive use and factors influence it.Methodology: This was a cross sectional study conducted among 80 male partners between April and May, 2017 using quantitative method of data collection and SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis. Crude and adjusted odds ratios as well as 95% confidence interval were used in this study with a p-value of ≤ 0.05 considered statistically significant.Results: The mean age of the respondents in the study was 40.0 ± 10 years with only 13 (16.3%) of the respondents adjudged as being involved in their spousal contraceptive use. Currently use of male contraceptive method was found to significantly influence involvement in spousal contraceptive use (AOR = 7.1; 95% CI = 2.1092 – 10.5818; P = 0.015). Conclusion: This study has demonstrated a low level of male involvement in spousal contraceptive use hence, relevant male educational intervention on contraception is required.