Man Up! Redefining Male Attitudes towards Reproductive Health: Evaluating a successful male service program at a school based health center

Background: Historically, adolescent males underutilize sexual and reproductive health services. Factors associated with underutilization include barriers to clinic access, lack of awareness of available services, and male attitudes toward reproductive health. The ManUp! Project was created to address these male-specific challenges by reaching male students at its school based health center (SBHC). The objective of the Man Up! Project is to increase the number of male students aged 14-18 accessing family planning services at a SBHC. Methods: Data collected from focus groups informed the activities needed for successful program implementation. These activities included the incorporation of culturally responsive outreach methods, student workshops focused on transforming male attitudes toward family planning and staff trainings on successful communication methods with male clients. Impact evaluations measured male students' pre- and post-test knowledge and attitudes toward reproductive health. In addition, clinic data tracked male utilization of services. Results: Since its inception, the ManUp! Project has increased the number of unduplicated adolescent male patient visits from 12 in 2008 to 121 in 2009. Although funding for the project ceased in 2010, the agency has incorporated the program as part of its standard clinical practice and has continued to see a rise in visits. Conclusions: Although adolescent males have increased access to sexual and reproductive health services in Title X family planning clinics, much work remains. The employment of a culturally responsive curriculum designed for adolescent males, including transformative counseling, is imperative to engage male clients in sexual and reproductive health services at SBHCs.