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The current study aims to use bioecological theory to examine the effects of different contextual factors such as husbands’ desire for children, visit by a family planning worker, media messages, and province level on women’s use of contraception in Pakistan. Two cross-sectional data sets were taken from the Pakistan Demographic and Health Surveys (PDHS), conducted in 2006–07 and 2012–13, which included 3,811 and 4,871 currently married, lower socioeconomic status (SES) women aged 15–49 years, respectively. Using logistic regression, the results showed that women’s perception of a husband’s desire for children and visit by family planning workers were significant predictors of women’s use of contraception in both periods (i.e. PDHS 2006–07 and PDHS, 2012–13). Specifically, those women who had a desire for children similar to their husband were more likely to use contraception than those who either were not sure about their husband’s desire for children or whose desire for children was less or more than their husband. Moreover, those women who had at least one visit from a family planning worker during the 12 months prior to the survey were more likely to use contraception than their counterparts.

The purpose of this paper is to find out the prevalence and determinants of unmet need with a special focus on religious barrier towards the use of contraception among Muslim women in India. The study also addresses their future intention to use family planning method.

Data from the latest round of District Level Household and Facility Survey (DLHS-3) in India is used. A multi-stage stratified probability proportion to size sampling design was adopted. The present analysis is based on 70,016 currently married Muslim women across the country.

The prevalence of total unmet need is the highest in Bihar (48.5 per cent), which is two times higher than the national level (27.6 per cent). About 9 per cent Muslim women in India do not use contraception due to religious opposition. There is considerable gap in the future intention to use family planning method between Muslim (9.2 per cent) and non-Muslim (19.6 per cent) women particularly for limiting birth. The logistic regression analysis shows non-Muslim women are significantly more likely (OR=1.540, p<0.001) to have the intention to use family planning method in the future than Muslim women.

Men are not included to explore the differences in the perception of men and women towards family planning. Interventions targeting men and aiming at overcoming cultural barriers to using family planning method are equally imperative. Couple's knowledge, attitude and perception towards acceptance of family planning methods need to be addressed simultaneously by interviewing the couples separately.

Public-private collaboration to promote family planning programme and providing services in the high prevalence (unmet need) states is required. Support from the religious leaders to overcome the cultural barriers towards the use of family planning is also needed.

This is the first ever effort to address the existing unmet need for family planning among Muslim women in India, which is an important determinant of high fertility among Muslim women.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the socio-religious factors associated with unmet need for family planning among married Rwandan women, and examine individual and contextual characteristics of married fecund women influencing their contraceptive use and future intentions to use contraception.

This study employed merge data, which were extracted from 2005, 2010, 2014–2015 Rwanda Demographic And Health Survey’s individual women data sets. Characteristics of married fecund women with unmet need for family planning were compared using Pearson’s χ² test. A binary logistic regression analysis was applied to examine the influence of socio-religious factors on contraceptive use, and future intentions to use contraception among married fecund women.

Unmet need for family planning among married Rwandan women has significantly decreased over the past decade, from 39.9 percent in 2005 to 19.5 percent in 2010 and 17.5 percent in 2015. Women who are Protestants, residing in rural area, and having five or more children were significantly more likely to have an unmet need for family planning. Overall, the likelihood of having unmet need for family planning, not using contraceptives and future intentions for not using contraception was found statistically high among Protestant women compared to Catholics and low-educated women.

Unmarried women and men are not included to examine their role play and characteristics influences on family planning use in Rwanda. Investing in education of girls should be a priority for the future, without that there will not be equality in reproductive health and rights. Factors behind the recent slow motion of family planning initiatives need to be addressed in order to meet the reproductive needs and rights of all women.

Public-religious collaboration to promote nationally Natural Family Planning in all healthcare facilities is extremely needed. Since the family planning initiatives have been recently very slow, investing in behavioral change programs through mass communication seems deliberately prudent.

Investing in behavioral change programs and promoting sexual and reproductive health education would improve women’s social well-being.

This is the first-ever effort to examine the influence of the socio-religious values on family planning use among Rwandan fecund women.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors influencing the use of family planning and its link with multidimensional poverty in rural Nigeria.

The Alkire and Foster measure of poverty as well as the Logistic and Probit models were used to identify the factors influencing the use of family planning and its effect on the multidimensional poverty status of rural households in Nigeria.

The results indicate that 31.1 percent of rural households were poor with deprivations in health and education contributing the most to multidimensional poverty. The low use of contraception was closely linked to low level of literacy, lack of awareness of the different methods and high levels of poverty. The use of contraception reduced the level of poverty in the household.

The intensity of poverty should be considered in the design of policies and programs. The wide and proper use of family planning is a sine qua non for any significant reduction in poverty. Potent and assertive family planning programs by government could be achieved through public-private sector partnership and assistance of international development partners.

This paper attempts to bridge the knowledge gap in the empirical literature on the link between multidimensional poverty and family planning. In particular`, its application to the rural context, often characterized by high rate of poverty and unmet needs for family planning employing nationally representative data is of immense value for social policy.

Quality of family planning services is now considered as a global concern and importance. The purpose of the present study is to assess quality of family planning services in the urban health centers of Shahid Beheshti Medical Science University.

This was a descriptive study to assess structure, process and outcome of the family planning care services. A total of 15 health centers of Shahid Beheshti Medical Science University were randomized and the quality of provided care by 65 family planning care providers of these health centers were observed and assessed using checklists. A total of 75 family planning clients were interviewed to assess their knowledge about their selected family planning method all of whom completed the related forms of satisfaction with the services. The tools for data collection were two observational checklists, and two questionnaires with subsequent data analyzed using SPSS 11.5. In total 75 clients with an average age 24 (7±4) (mean±SD) participated in the study. The provision of family planning services by 65 providers was assessed by observation at three intervals. Of the providers, 60 (92.3 per cent) were midwives.

Mean satisfaction score of clients was 83.3±9.05 percent meaning clients were highly satisfied with the services. Mean knowledge score of clients about their family planning method of use was 59.1±18 percent, which shows their moderate knowledge about their method of use.

A more advanced tool to assess quality of care of family planning services with more focus on special care for the contraceptives was developed. Quality of care in family planning services of Shahid Beheshti Medical Science University health centers showed adequate facilities and equipment and to have trained personnel however their client's knowledge about the selected method was moderate. Therefore, interventional programs are needed to improve counseling and the educational process of clients, which should be considered in future research and planning of the programs.

Family planning is one of the services that has positive influence on the social welfare and health of the mothers and directly contributes to reduction of maternal morbidity and mortality. Family planning is a major health issue in Africa and it has degenerated more into socioeconomic problems like poverty, overpopulation, delinquent children, and so on. Studies have shown that family planning is safe to use but this has remains obscure to most women in developing countries such as Nigeria. Fewer numbers of women have knowledge and access to family planning but majority of Nigerians failed to adopt the habit as a result of many factors such as education, age, culture, religion, income, and health status which influence their attitude toward family planning among others. Social Action Theory was used as the theoretical guide in examining the behavior, attitude, and perception of women toward family planning as well as to give a clear knowledge about the importance of family planning on individual, family, and society at large. This chapter reveals that population explosion, malnutrition, and diseases such as HIV (and other diseases) are trending in Nigeria. Hence, it was recommended that every health worker should engage more in community-based awareness and enlightenment on the utilization of family planning; also, there is a need to intensify information dissemination and educational campaigns through the media. Furthermore, importance should be placed on modern contraceptives.

This chapter explores the significance and implementation of family planning practices, emphasizing their vital role in enhancing reproductive health outcomes. This chapter conducts an in-depth examination of family planning practices within marginalized communities in Bangladesh, shedding light on the unique challenges and opportunities faced by these populations. By uncovering the nuances of family planning practices in marginalized contexts, this chapter underscores the need for tailored and culturally sensitive family planning programs. It advocates for program designs that facilitate the effective adoption of family planning practices among marginalized communities, ultimately promoting better reproductive health outcomes. Furthermore, this chapter highlights the importance of empowerment strategies in reaching and engaging marginalized communities. Through practice enhancement initiatives, it seeks to empower marginalized populations with the knowledge and resources necessary to make informed decisions about family planning, thereby contributing to improved reproductive health and overall well-being.

Men are often considered by the health care system to be a disengaged accessory when it comes to family planning. In reality they act as an equal part in the reproductive equation. Despite qualitative research suggesting some men currently do take primary responsibility for family planning, men are further marginalised being classed as an irrational variable in large national datasets. Reports ignore men in general by failing to record basic demographics, for example, age is not captured and ethnicity has two options: white and non-white. This leaves little ability to analyse men's family planning knowledge, attitudes and beliefs. Technological advancements have resulted in new forms of male contraceptive methods reaching phase III testing (from pills to gels), and the market is moving towards diversified options that will allow even more men to take primary contraceptive responsibility. Other advancements include the sexual enhancement product Viagra becoming available over the counter, and reproductive wellbeing apps have been created to allow men to test their fertility at home. Without research to understand the ever-changing landscape for men we are ill-prepared to understand what these new products and advancements mean for men's role. Using various forms of publicly available online data and previous empirical research, this chapter will review men's response to new contraceptives, sexual enhancement products, and reproductive wellbeing apps. The results will be discussed in relation to updating the Subjective Expected Utility (SEU) Theory, the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the integrated developmental and decision-making contraceptive models used by health psychologists.

This chapter is dedicated to the exploration of attitudes toward family planning within marginalized communities in Bangladesh. It begins by elucidating the concept of attitudes and underscoring their significance in the context of family planning. This chapter investigates the intricate relationship between attitudes and family planning decisions, revealing the diverse attitudes prevalent within these marginalized communities. It proposes targeted interventions aimed at breaking down attitudinal barriers that hinder effective family planning practices, with the goal of empowering these communities through a transformative process of attitude change. This comprehensive examination of attitudes toward family planning among marginalized populations contributes valuable insights to the fields of public health and social development.

Use of the Malthusian Paradigm for Justification of Compulsory Family Planning One of the most important issues in the contemporary debate concerning population policy has been the question of compulsion in family planning (or more specifically, compulsory sterilisation) for the quantitative control of population. The present‐day demographic scene in the Third World is characterised as one of “population explosion”. It is argued that despite the spread of family planning and the recent trends towards decline in fertility among two‐thirds of the populations of the developing countries, the burden of the population problem in terms of the requirements on the eve of the 21st century is not going to be light, considering the limited and fast depleting resources of this slender globe. Hence, pressures have been mounting from various quarters towards more and more stringent measures converging on coercion to control the family size and population growth in the low‐income countries. For example, during the Emergency in India (1975–77), it was felt by the then Government (under the prime ministership of Mrs Indira Gandhi), the ruling Congress Party and some groups and individuals that the time had come to put the population problems of the country on a war footing and adopt drastic measures such as compulsory sterilisation to meet the hydra‐headed scourge of over‐population. In fact, the Government of Maharashtra, a state within the Union of India, went a step further and pioneered for the first time in history a bill on the compulsory sterilisation of eligible persons, for introduction in the State Legislative Assembly which passed a revised version of this bill (1976). To support and justify compulsion in family planning, various arguments — scientific and pseudo‐scientific — are usually made. At the head of all the arguments is most distinctly the Malthusian — or rather the neo‐Malthusian — argument. The novelty of the Malthusian argument made is that it is advanced this time to present a justification, not for the mere control of population by some voluntary means, but for a strict regulation of the size of each family in society through the instrumentality of physical force having the sanction of the law of the land and having penal provisions for the defaulters. It is the major concern of this essay to examine whether and how far the Malthusian paradigm is relevant, adequate and correct, vis‐à‐vis the issue of compulsion in family planning. What exactly is the basis of the neo‐Malthusian position on compulsion? Would Malthus, if he were amongst us, have supported compulsory family planning for the reasons which generally go under the caption of Malthusianism? Is the issue of compulsion in family planning so narrow as to be capable of being fully tackled by the Malthusian paradigm? These are some of the important questions which are sought to be explored in the short space available for this article.