Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Email: hammme2 upmc. This low utilization may particularly affect low-income men, given the disproportionate prevalence of unintended pregnancy in low-income populations.
Semistructured interviews about fatherhood, fertility intention, and contraceptive use were conducted with 58 low-income Black and White men in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The interviews were analyzed using content analysis to determine common themes that were most relevant to the men interviewed. However, men had children despite feeling financially unprepared, and their contraceptive use was not always congruent with their stated fertility intentions. Some men described financial services as a feature of family planning services that they would find useful.
Keywords: fathering, psychosocial and cultural issues, parenting, qualitative research, research. Family planning services in the United States are currently primarily structured for women Besera et al. While this focus on women is understandable given that they bear children and have more extensive and effective birth control options available to them, public health efforts call for engaging men in reducing unintended pregnancy risk Marcell et al. Male attendance at such clinics, however, doubled between and , potentially reflecting increased demand for or acceptability of receiving family planning services among men Besera et al.
These include structural barriers such as cost and availability of services Marcell et al. In particular, the medical focus i. Low male usage of family planning services despite demonstrable need suggests that it is important to identify both extant and potential features of family planning programs that might be salient to men to bolster their attendance in such programs and ensure that such programs meet their needs.
Thus, to determine the reproductive health needs of low-income men, investigators on the present study interviewed a sample of men about their fertility-related attitudes and behaviors as well as their preferences for family planning services. These interviews elicited a range of fertility-related experiences and attitudes and helped to clarify what is important to men in this age range when it comes to preparing for fatherhood and how this shapes their future fertility intentions.
