Modern contraception use in Ethiopia: does involving husbands make a difference?

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Family Planning
• Reproductive Health

Background:

• Modern contraception use is crucial for reproductive health and family planning.
• Ethiopia faces challenges in widespread adoption of family planning methods.
• Home visitation is a strategy to improve health education and behavior change.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of home visitation interventions on modern contraception uptake.
• To compare the impact of husband participation versus no husband participation in family planning home visits.
• To assess the influence of these interventions in the Ethiopian context.

Main Methods:

• A randomized field trial was conducted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
• The study involved home visitation with and without husband participation.
• Follow-up extended to 12 months post-intervention, with high retention rates.

Main Results:

• Couples receiving home visits with husband participation showed higher modern contraception use at 2 months (25% vs 15%) and 12 months (33% vs 17%).
• Experimental group participants were less likely to discontinue and more likely to initiate modern contraception by 12 months.
• A delay in the initiation of modern contraception was observed in most couples.

Conclusions:

• Including husbands in family planning programs significantly boosts modern contraception use.
• A "sleeper effect" was identified, with most couples delaying initiation of modern contraception for over two months.
• Targeted home visitation interventions can enhance family planning program effectiveness.