Involving men and boys in family planning: A call to action for women’s health practitioners

Objective: Although increasing numbers of family planning (FP) interventions seek to involve men and boys, there is a lack of clarity regarding the characteristics of successful interventions and their potential to improve women’s sexual and reproductive health (SRH). While we know what interventions work in relation to involving men and boys, we know less about how and why they work. This study aimed to determine effective components and characteristics of FP interventions that involve men and boys in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and to promote the use of this evidence for women’s SRH.
Method: Working with an international expert advisory group and using innovative data synthesis methods, we conducted a systematic review of the effectiveness and implementation of 128 complex FP interventions evaluated in LMICs around the world.
Results: Study findings will be available from August 2021. Their implications for women’s health practitioners will be presented for the first time at the FIGO conference. Preliminary findings suggest that successful interventions engage men and boys as partners in FP or as FP users themselves. Effective interventions appear to incorporate tailored behaviour change and gender-aware or gender-transformative strategies in their design.
Conclusions: The World Health Organisation and policy makers globally recognise the vital role that involving men and boys in FP can play in reducing gender inequalities in sexual decision-making and improving health for all. However, evidence on how to promote information about this among women’s health practitioners is lacking. This study synthesises evidence that will help fill this gap and its findings will be of global interest and impact.