Which men have better attitudes and participation to family planning services? A study in primary care settings from Northern Turkey

Background: Turkey is the third most populous country of the European region located at the crossroads of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. In Turkey, approximately 2 million pregnancies occur every year. Half of the pregnancies are involuntary, and five out of every 100 pregnancies end with wanted abortion. There are limitations in access to modern methods in the north of Turkey. This study was aimed to determine the factors associated with better attitudes and participation to family planning (FP) services in primary care settings from Northern Turkey. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study, based on primary care settings, was conducted in the Middle Black Sea Region of Turkey with 400 married men. Male attitudes and participation were measured by a questionnaire form. Chi-square testing and logistic regression analyses were applied. Results: We found that male participation was present in 302 participants (75.5%), and 363 participants (90.8%) approved the use of FP. Male participation was significantly different by age, occupation, education, marriage age, spouses' education and occupation, and attitudes towards FP. Based on multivariate analysis, male participation was significantly associated with spouses' level of education, employment status, currently using FP, and the perception of spousal communication. Conclusion: Better participation existed among participants with higher educated spouses, employed spouses, current users of FP, and the better self-perception of communication.