Male Involvement in Family Planning Services Utilisation and Associated Factors in Musanze District, Northern Rwanda

Abstract

Background Male involvement in family planning services is critical for reducing unplanned pregnancies unsafe abortions maternal and child mortality Men being the primary decision-makers in the majority of African households play an important role in women s usage and continuance of contraceptive methods However for a variety of reasons their participation in family planning services remains limited This study aims to determine the level of male involvement in family planning services utilization and associated factors in the Musanze district of Northern Rwanda Methods A cross-sectional study design was carried out on 397 currently married men from June to August 2023 in three sectors of Musanze district Northern Rwanda Simple random sampling technique was used to select participants of the study Data were collected using Pre-tested interview-administered questionnaires Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify variables associated with male involvement in family planning services utilisation Results In this study the overall level of male involvement in family planning services utilisation was 36 7 of males The mean age of respondents was 38 103 SD of 7 838 Logistic regression results suggested that age of respondents AOR 6 199 95 CI 1 727-22 251 and being employed AOR 2 95 CI 1 24-3 224 were positively associated with male involvement in family planning services Whereas distance to family planning facility AOR 0 071 95 CI 0 009-0 579 being educated AOR 0 495 95 CI 0 229-1 072 and being Muslim is negatively associated with male involvement in family planning services AOR 0 226 95 CI 0 041-1 237 Conclusions In this study the level of male involvement in family planning services utilization was low Male involvement in FP services was predicted by age education level religion occupation and distance to FP facility Based on these findings the study suggests integrating men into existing family planning services to enhance usage and sustainability