Male involvement in family planning in rural Vietnam: an application of the Transtheoretical Model.

Various studies have shown that family planning adoption is likely to be more effective for women when men are actively involved. Male involvement in family planning is an instance of behavior change. The Transtheoretical Model of behavior change was used to examine men's involvement in general contraception and intrauterine device (IUD) use by their wives. The study tested whether the constructs of the model, decisional balance and self-efficacy, are sensitive to differences in stages of change. Reliable scales to test decisional balance and self-efficacy were developed. The study was carried out in rural Vietnam with 201 eligible participants. The staging algorithm identified that 25.8% of men were in the precontemplation stage, 10.5% of men were in the contemplation/preparation stages and 63.7% of men were in the action/maintenance stages. Disadvantages of IUD use for men in precontemplation were significantly higher than those in the action/maintenance stages, while the reverse was true for self-efficacy for convincing their wives to use an IUD. Interventions that are targeted to stage of change, that seek to reduce cons and that increase self-efficacy have the potential to influence male involvement in IUD adoption by their wives.