141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

289531
Together, for a better future

Monday, November 4, 2013 : 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Dominick Shattuck, PhD , Behavioral & Social Sciences, FHI 360, Durham, NC
Shrabanti Sen, PhD , FHI360 - India, New Delhi, India
Deepika Yadav, PhD , FHI360 India, New Delhi, India
Elizabeth Doggett, MA , FHI360, Durham, NC
Helen Bristow, MPH , FHI360, Durham, NC
Purpose: Until recently, family planning programs have only provided limited interaction for and with men. We utilized existing male-engagement resources to develop and test an intervention manual to improve men's knowledge of FP, foster gender equitable attitudes and improve communication skills required for combined FP decision-making by a couple.

Methods: One group pretest-posttest design (n = 450 men, 450 women) tested changes in family planning knowledge, attitudes, and uptake in 38 randomly selected villages in Jharkhand, India. Male participants attended 6 educational sessions over 2 months. A small group of participants were asked to take part in the development of a video and describe their experiences.

Results: Preliminary results reveal increases in the frequency and ease of communication between couples, more equitable decision-making and more couples jointly planning their future contraceptive use. We will briefly present final statistical findings and a brief video of participants describing the benefits of participating in this video.

Conclusions: Men and women reported positive impacts on their relationships after the intervention. Although contraceptive uptake was associated with fertility intention, other benefits of male engagement reflected more equitable relationships. The limited time-frame of this intervention/study may provide a glimpse of positive interaction between husbands and wives while making decisions about spacing births and limiting family size.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Diversity and culture
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related education
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Name and discuss the three components and the changes you noticed in the intervention a to increase male involvement in family planning services in rural India.

Keywords: Gender, Family Planning

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Principal Investigator on this project Changing Attitudes toward Family Planning Services through Increased Male Involvement, India
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.