Male attitudes towards family planning in the Limpopo province of South Africa

South African Family Practice

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Male attitudes towards family planning in the Limpopo province of South Africa
 
Creator Radzuma, Ndifelani D. Marincowitz, Gert J.O. Marincowitz, Clara
 
Subject Family Medicine family planning; contraception; rural men; perceptions; attitudes; decision-making; communication; focus group discussion
Description Background: Women often do not receive support from their partners with regards to family planning (FP), which can lead to hesitancy and inconsistent use. This study sought to understand the male attitudes that contribute to this.Methods: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted in 2019 using focus group discussions (FGDs) with purposively selected men aged ≥ 25 years and in a relationship with a woman of childbearing age. An open-ended question guide was used to explore men’s perceptions regarding FP. The discussions were recorded, translated and transcribed verbatim, whereafter transcripts were coded and analysed thematically.Results: Three major themes were identified, namely: (1) the advantages of FP, including financial benefits and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy; (2) the disadvantages of FP, including perceived adverse effects on men and women, as well as marital difficulties; and (3) the exclusion of men from FP by health workers and their partners.Conclusion: Men felt ambivalent towards FP. They were aware of the benefits thereof, but were hesitant to allow their female partners to use contraceptives, because of several misconceptions about the adverse effects. This underscores the need to involve men in FP programmes.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor Nil
Date 2022-10-06
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Peer-reviewed Article Qualitative research
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/safp.v64i1.5587
 
Source South African Family Practice; Vol 64, No 1 (2022): Part 4; 6 pages 2078-6204 2078-6190
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/5587/7581 https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/5587/7582 https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/5587/7583 https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/5587/7584
 
Coverage Limpopo Province August 2019 25-60; male; African
Rights Copyright (c) 2022 Ndifelani D. Radzuma, Gert J.O. Marincowitz, Clara Marincowitz https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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