Male partners and medical staff's perception on contributing factors of Family Planning (FP) in Fiji.

INTRODUCTION

Male partners play an important role in Family Planning (FP) as they are directly involved in the decision making of FP with their partners. Medical staff are also involved with FP services that have a direct relation to usage of FP among the men and women. This study is aimed to explore the perception of male partners and the medical staff about factors affecting FP decision in Fiji.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The qualitative study was carried out among men who were partners of the pregnant women, and medical staff at Ba Mission Hospital (BMH), Fiji in 2019. The study utilised semi-structured questionnaire to guide four Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) among 10 male partners and 10 medical staff. Interview was audio transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis.

RESULT

The common themes identified from the male interviews were the opposition of male partners, religious norms and cultural beliefs, accessibility of contraception, and previous FP failure. The common themes identified from the medical staff interviews were; effectiveness of counseling, concerns on men involvement in FP, and barriers towards FP.

CONCLUSION

This study reveals the need for better counseling, more awareness on FP for men and more involvement of men by the medical staff in FP practices.