Counseling Women and Couples on Family Planning: a Randomized Study in Jordan
El-Khoury, M.; Thornton, R.; Chatterji, M.; Kamhawi, S.; Sloane, P.; Halassa, M.
Studies in Family Planning 47(3): 222-238
2016
ISSN/ISBN: 1728-4465 PMID: 27611319 DOI: 10.1111/sifp.69Document Number: 640773
This article evaluates the effects of involving men in family planning counseling in Jordan using a randomized experiment. We randomly assigned a sample of 1,247 married women to receive women-only counseling, couples counseling, or no counseling. We measured the effects of each type of counseling on family planning use, knowledge, attitudes, and spousal communication about family planning. Compared to no counseling, couples counseling led to a 54 percent increase in uptake of modern methods. This effect is not significantly different from the 46 percent increase in modern method uptake as a result of women-only counseling. This outcome may be due, in part, to lower rates of compliance with the intervention among those assigned to couples counseling compared to women-only counseling. To realize the possible added benefits of involving men, more tailored approaches may be needed to increase men's participation.
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