Prevalence and determinants of contraceptive use among men in Tanzania: Analysis of the 2022 demographic and health survey

Globally, contraceptive use is an important strategy in fighting maternal and neonatal deaths. The spacing and avoiding unplanned pregnancies while providing woman with enough time recovering her health and newborns growing. However, the contraception uses in developing countries including Tanzania is low and is worse among men, culturally regarded as the dominant decision makers in sexual relationships. This study intended to assess prevalence and determinants of the contraceptive use among Tanzanian men using the Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS) 2022. The study analyzed secondary data collected using cross-sectional study design of weighted 5763 men obtained from the TDHS 2022. A dependent variable was contraceptive use and independent variables were man's demographic and socio-economic characteristics. Bivariate and multivariable analysis were conducted and p-value<0.05 determined a significant factor. The prevalence of contraceptive use among Tanzanian men is 26%. The logistic regression showed men aged 45-49 years (aOR=3.08, 95% CI = 1.90-5.01) had higher odds to use contraceptive compared to men aged 15-19. Men with higher education (aOR=2.94, 95% CI = 1.79-4.84) had higher odds to use contraceptive compared to those with informal education, from rich quantile (aOR=1.42, 95% CI = 0.92-1.46) had higher odds compared to poor. Men with five and above children (aOR=1.62, 95% CI = 1.08-2.43) had higher odds to use contraceptive compared to those with no child. Those desired no more child had odds of 1.4 times higher to use contraceptive (aOR=1.40, 95% CI = 1.05-1.88), men who heard family planning on radio (aOR=1.39, 95% CI = 1.16-1.66) had higher odds of using contraceptive to those who did not. The contraceptive use among Tanzanian men is generally low with a prevalence rate of only 26% and was associated with man's age, education level, wealth index, number of children, and occupation. More tailored programs targeting men to increase their education level particularly health education are crucial in increasing men's contraceptive use in Tanzania.