Together, for a better future

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.