Imtishal Mohammed, Mohammadnezhad Masoud
School of Public Health and Primary Care, Fiji National University, Suva, Fiji Islands, Fiji.
Heliyon. 2021 Jan 24;7(1):e06068. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06068. eCollection 2021 Jan.
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.
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.
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.
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.
男性伴侣在计划生育（FP）中发挥着重要作用，因为他们直接参与与伴侣共同做出的计划生育决策。医务人员也参与与男性和女性计划生育使用直接相关的计划生育服务。本研究旨在探讨斐济男性伴侣和医务人员对影响计划生育决策因素的看法。
2019年，对斐济巴教会医院（BMH）的孕妇伴侣男性和医务人员进行了定性研究。该研究使用半结构化问卷指导了10名男性伴侣和10名医务人员之间的四次焦点小组讨论（FGD）。访谈进行了音频转录，并使用主题分析进行了分析。
男性访谈中确定的共同主题是男性伴侣的反对、宗教规范和文化信仰、避孕措施的可及性以及以前的计划生育失败。医务人员访谈中确定的共同主题是；咨询的有效性、对男性参与计划生育的担忧以及计划生育的障碍。
本研究表明需要更好的咨询、提高男性对计划生育的认识以及医务人员让男性更多地参与计划生育实践。
