Socio-cultural Factors That Influence Men’s Participation in Family Planning in Bomet County, Kenya

Abstract

The Government of Kenya (GoK) has adopted strategic interventions to reduce fertility and address unmet Family Planning (FP) needs. This study sought to examine socio-cultural factors that influence men’s participation in FP in Bomet County, Kenya. The study was informed by the Social Dominance Theory (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). This research adopted a descriptive survey research design. Multi-stage cluster sampling was utilized to sample 394 participants from the households. Further, twelve key informants, including seven health practitioners, three religious leaders and two community elders, were selected purposively to participate in the study. Data collection were questionnaires, Key informants interview (KIIs) and focus group discussion (FGD) guides. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse quantitative data. Thematic grouping was used to analyse qualitative data. The findings revealed that socio-cultural factors determine men's participation in FP. They included: the desire to have large families, son preference and religious beliefs.