A qualitative examination of men's participation in contraceptive use and its barriers in Tehran

From 1989 to 2014, Iran was known as a country with a successful family planning programme, and has experienced a sharp decline in fertility over recent decades. This led to the introduction of pronatalist policies in 2014 and the restriction of family planning services. The aim of this study was to explore men's views on their access to contraceptive information and services and the socio-cultural barriers to such access in Tehran. The qualitative study was conducted in 2014 using in-depth interviews with 60 married men of varying ages and socioeconomic status from across Tehran. The data were analysed with a basic interpretive approach using MAXQDA10. Although the majority of the men acknowledged the importance of family planning and contraceptive use, they reported that their access to contraceptive information and services was limited. Discussion of sexual matters and contraception among men was identified as being somewhat embarrassing. Three main issues were identified: (1) men's poor awareness of contraceptive use; (2) men's poor access to high-quality health care services; and (3) cultural taboos and gender norms as barriers to contraception use by men. Socio-cultural and gender norms were found to significantly affect the men's contraceptive use. The study results support the growing call for gender-transformative approaches to family planning and reproductive health service delivery in Iran, to involve men and facilitate their greater participation.