Effectiveness of an educational counselling program in improving husbands’ knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and intention to participate with wife in family planning

M. Abozied, Aziza; A. Oraby, Fatma; Amin Elzehri, Merfat; Ahmed Mahmoud, Samar

doi:10.21608/ejhc.2022.249355

Effectiveness of an educational counselling program in improving husbands’ knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and intention to participate with wife in family planning

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Assist. Prof. of Community Health Nursing,Beni-Suef University. -Egypt

² Lecturer Obstetrics Nursing,and Gynecology Faculty of Nursing-Misr University for Science and Technology.

³ PHD of Woman Health and Midwifery Nursing, Technical institute of Nursing, Mansoura University Egypt & Assist.prof.of Child bearing family College of Applied Medical Science, Taibahu University

⁴ Lecturer of Community Health Nursing. Aswan University Egypt ,Currently in Faculty of Applied Medical Science,AL Baha University

10.21608/ejhc.2022.249355

Abstract

Background: Egypt is faced with a major challenge with over-population. The burden of family
planning and use of contraception have always fallen on women, with undermining the role of men.
Aim of the study: To assess the effectiveness of an educational FP counselling program in
improving husband’s related knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and intention to participate with wife
in FP. Participants and methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted in urban and rural
household from community-dwelling in Beni-Suef city and suburbs on 110 husbands. An interview
questionnaire covering participant’s demographic characteristics, knowledge, sources of
information, attitudes towards FP, and the intention to participate with wife in FP, and related
barriers. The fieldwork was executed through assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation
phases. Results: Husbands median age was 35 years; 47.3% had university education. Post
intervention knowledge demonstrated statistically significant improvements in all areas (p < 0.001);
73.6% had total satisfactory knowledge. Statistically significant improvements in attitudes were
shown after the intervention. The multivariate analysis identified the study intervention as the main
positive predictor of husbands’ knowledge score. The intervention increased husbands’ intention to
participate in FP with wife by two-folds (OR=2.012). Conclusion and recommendations: The
educational counseling program is successful in improving husband’s knowledge and attitudes. It is
recommended to implement this program in various healthcare settings. Further research is
proposed to examine the effectiveness of such interventions involving husbands and wives together.

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