Factors influencing men’s willingness and participation in reproductive health programmes in Tanzania: a case study of Kinondoni district

The study was conducted among men who are married, separated, cohabiting and divorced at Goba ward , and sought to determine the factors which might influence men’s willingness and participation in reproductive health issues. A pre-designed questionnaire was administered in this study to a sample of 271 men. Data were collected from men on reproductive health related knowledge on male participation, attitudes toward safe reproductive health, practice of modern contraceptive methods, willingness of men to participate in RH services and means of getting media information. The data were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression to determine the factors which influence men participation in reproductive health issues. Based on the responses some factors emerged to have significant effect on influencing men willingness and participation in reproductive health programs. The common predictors in multinomial logistic regression such as men having four children and above ( p-value=0.086, OR=0.328, CI = 0.113 -0.954), Marital status (cohabiting) (p-values=0.000, OR=4.437, CI=1.935 – 10.172) , monthly earnings (DK) ( p-value=0.004, OR=0.331, P=0.015 , OR=1.907, CI=1.134-3.208, CI=0.157-0.699), education (Not primary) (p-value=0.053, OR=1.964, P=0.019,OR=2.550, CI=1.169-5.563, CI=1.105-3.490) , employed (p=0.031, OR=3.187, CI=1.115-9.106) and unemployed (p=0.011, OR=3.276, CI=1.306-8.217) had significant contributions in influencing men’s willingness and participation in reproductive health programs. The study further recommends similar studies in rural areas using large samples to explore more factors influencing men’s willingness and participation in reproductive health programs.