Influence of Exposure to Family Planning Messages on Modern Contraceptive Methods Use among Men and Their Partners in Urban Nigeria

Chinelo Okigbo, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ilene S. Speizer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Meghan Corroon, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The importance of men’s involvement in a couple’s fertility choices and use of family planning (FP) has often been overlooked by researchers and program experts but is a vital factor in the prevention of unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions. This study uses midterm evaluation data from the Measurement, Learning & Evaluation (MLE) project for the Nigerian Urban RH Initiative (NURHI) funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The objective is to assess whether men’s exposure to a FP program is associated with their reported use of modern contraceptive methods with their female partners in two cities in Nigeria, Ibadan and Kaduna. The results presented indicate that certain NURHI demand generation activities were significantly associated with men’s reported FP use at midterm with some differences noted across cities. In addition, greater intensity of program exposure was found to be associated with use of modern contraceptive methods.