Men’s social networks, social norms, & family planning in Benin

ABSTRACT

To address low family planning (FP) use and high unmet need in West Africa, attention has been paid to addressing FP-related social networks and norms. Most work focuses on women. This analysis assesses men’s FP-related social networks and norms and their relation to FP use in Benin using data from baseline surveys from the Tékponon Jikuagou intervention. We descriptively analysed men’s egocentric FP-related social networks and norms at the village level. Multivariable logistic regression analyses (N = 885) examined the relationship between FP-related social networks, norms, and men’s current and future FP use. Twenty-three percent of men reported current modern contraception use and 47% reported intended future use. Most had few network members. While most believed it was acceptable to discuss FP, few talked with peers about FP and most did not discuss FP with their partner(s). In multivariable analyses, neither networks nor norms were significantly related to men’s FP use. Men’s networks being small and men rarely discussing FP indicate an opportunity for village-based approaches to engage men in FP discussions and spark FP dialogue within couples, between men, and within villages. Future work should further explore the relationship between men’s social networks, norms, and FP use.

KEYWORDS:

• Family planning
• men
• social networks
• social norms
• Benin

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the Institute of Reproductive Health at Georgetown University.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Tékponon Jikuagou was supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) [AID-OAA-A-10_00066]. The Carolina Population Center provided general and training support (P2C-HD050924; T32-HD007168) from the NICHD.