Filipino Men's Gendered Involvement in Family Planning: A Sequential Explanatory Analysis of the Kalalakihang Tapat sa Responsibilidad at Obligasyon sa Pamilya (KATROPA) Program in Quezon City, NCR

Abstract

Family planning (FP) is an indispensable aspect towards national development. While the Philippines instituted a national family planning program in 1979, figures on fertility rate and contraceptive prevalence have been stagnating and are worrisome. In addressing this national concern, male involvement arises as a promising feature that tends to be overlooked both in literature and institutional programs. Hence, by employing a sequential explanatory approach, this paper does not only holistically dissects the socioeconomic, cultural, and institutional factors affecting male involvement in family planning. It also serves as a program analysis of the KATROPA in Quezon City (QC), the country’s most populated highly urbanized city. KATROPA is one of the, if not the only, intervention program in transforming men as active players in responsible parenthood and reproductive health. The Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test ran on the survey questionnaires administered on the day of the program, found that while there is a particular increase in LARC awareness, KATROPA was not able to alter negative masculinity. Moreover, the opportunity to ask questions was an aspect participants were looking forward to having, yet were not satisfied with. A thematic analysis on six in-depth interviews with the participants corroborated these findings while also pointing at institutional lapses and cultural norms as barriers to modern contraceptive acceptance—vasectomy in particular. Furthermore, contrary to popular notion, financial situation and religion do not stand in the way of family planning. Notably, KATROPA in Quezon City cannot be properly assessed as it lacks monitoring and evaluation measures, as well as long-term goals. Thus, as a newly implemented program, QC Local Government Unit needs to clearly define KATROPA parameters to maximize its influence and impact. Future studies on the KATROPA may also consider employing a comparative study on the program’s implementation across different cities or regions.