Background & objective: Efficacy of family planning is an important factor in reducing fetomaternal mortality and morbidity. Since men could influence their spouses′ attitudes toward reproduction, we conducted this study to investigate the role of male education and participation in increasing the use of safe contraceptive methods.
Materials & methods: This quasi-experimental study was carried out on all fertile couples of Islamabad (Zanjan) who used withdrawal method for contraception. 90 families were entered into the study and following completing the questionnaire randomly divided into two groups of treatment and control. Intervention was performed through face-to-face education by NGO′S of the related regions for two months. After 6 months the second questionnaire was filled out to investigate the contraceptive methods. The data was analyzed using chi-square statistical test.
Results: Rate of application of safe contraceptive methods (TL, OCP, condom, IUD, DMPA) was higher in treatment group than in control group compared with withdrawal method which showed a significant difference (p=0.04). Knowledge of using OCP and condom in both groups were high. There were 4 and 1 cases of unwanted pregnancy in control and treatment groups respectively (non-significant difference).
Conclusion: Despite the difficulties in performing the research, the study results showed that participation of men positively affects family planning. More investigafion regarding the inolvement of men in family planning is recommended.