FAMILY PLANNING PRACTICE AMONGST MEN IN A NORTHERN NIGERIAN URBAN CENTRE.

Abubakar, M, Mamman, M and J. G. Laah

Many studies carried out on family planning (FP) focused immensely on women neglecting men’s role and attitude. Despite Government programmes and facilities to encourage family planning in Nigeria, the uses of such facilities are still low in Zaria LGA. The aim of this study is to assess the role of men in and their family planning practice in Zaria Local Government Area (LGA). A total of 408 respondents were purposively sampled for questionnaire administration and data were analyzed through percentages and Chi square tests. In spite of high knowledge of FP, only 34.2% of the respondents are currently practicing FP. Respondents that ever used FP were slightly higher (38.4%) than those currently current using it. While injectables and oral contraceptive pills were the most used methods by women, condom was the most used method by men. The Chi square analysis (X²) revealed that marital status and educational attainment with P values of 0.000 and 0.003 respectively, have significant relationship with knowledge of FP. Age, religion and ethnicity with P values of 0.000 each; education and income with P values of 0.003 and 0.032 respectively also have significantly positive influence on FP practice. The conclusion is that due to maternal and child health and socioeconomic issues arising from not practicing planning, FP programme in northern Nigeria should focus on Muslim men as joint decision makers in modern FP practice to improve. This can be achieved through targeted family planning education and promotion of programme to enlighten husbands. Religious leaders must also be involved in clarifying religious misconceptions on issues regarding family planning.

Key words: Attitude, Family Planning, Men, Role, Zaria.