Knowledge and involvement of husbands in the reproductive rights of women in Harar, eastern Ethiopia

OBJECTIVE: Reproductive rights violations are a serious public health concern worldwide, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 38.83% of victims live. Understanding the status of husbands’ knowledge and involvement helps to establish important programs and interventions. However, there are limited data related to husbands’ roles in women’s reproductive rights in the study setting. Therefore, this study aimed to assess husbands’ knowledge and involvement in women’s reproductive rights and their associated factors in Harar, eastern Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 611 husbands in March 2020. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Data were collected using a structured and pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data were entered using EpiData 3.1 and analyzed with SPSS Version 22. A multivariable logistic regression model was applied to examine the factors associated with the outcome variable using an adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval, and a p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The levels of husbands’ knowledge and involvement were 48.3% and 40.1%, respectively. Social media utilization (adjusted odds ratio = 4.97, 95% confidence interval = 2.79–8.85), partners’ discussion (adjusted odds ratio = 2.33, 95% confidence interval = 1.60–3.39), and type of facility: hospital (adjusted odds ratio = 3.21, 95% confidence interval = 1.23–8.36) and health post (adjusted odds ratio = 2.86, 95% confidence interval = 1.20–6.94) were factors associated with knowledge of husbands. Likewise, the experience of using reproductive services (adjusted odds ratio = 2.15, 95% confidence interval = 1.52–3.03), partner discussion (adjusted odds ratio = 1.95, 95% confidence interval = 1.35–2.82), social media utilization (adjusted odds ratio = 1.74, 95% confidence interval = 1.05–2.89), and age 40–49 years (adjusted odds ratio = 1.99, 95% confidence interval = 1.19–3.32) were factors associated with husbands’ involvement. CONCLUSION: Less than half of the husbands were knowledgeable and involved in executing partners’ reproductive rights. Promoting and creating effective media utilization is important for creating awareness of reproductive rights. Moreover, working on reproductive health service utilization, women empowerment, and making open discussions between partners are crucial to increase the knowledge and involvement of husbands.