Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T09:35:06.831Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Men in maternal health: an analysis of men’s views and knowledge on, and challenges to, involvement in antenatal care services in a Tanzanian community in Dodoma Region

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2020

Nyasiro Sophia Gibore Open the ORCID record for Nyasiro Sophia Gibore [Opens in a new window]  and
Ainory Peter Gesase
Nyasiro Sophia Gibore*
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of Dodoma, Dodoma, Tanzania
Ainory Peter Gesase
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Dodoma, Dodoma, Tanzania
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Promoting men’s involvement in antenatal care (ANC) requires an understanding of their views on how they ought to be involved. Their involvement in ANC services can help in reducing delay in deciding to seek care and facilitate women’s access to skilled antenatal services. This study sought to determine men’s views and knowledge on, and challenges to, involvement in ANC services in Tanzania. The cross-sectional study was carried out in four districts of Dodoma Region in November 2014 and June 2016. A multi-stage sampling strategy was used to select the study respondents. Data were collected by interviewing 966 men using a structured questionnaire. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association between men’s involvement in ANC services and their background characteristics. About 63.4% of respondents accompanied their partners to ANC services. Men’s view was that they can be involved through accompanying their partner to ANC clinics and providing money for health services. Men who had poor knowledge on ANC services were two times less likely to be involved in ANC services. Similarly, long waiting times at the antenatal clinics decreased the likelihood of service utilization by their partners. Men from a two-income household were more likely to be involved in ANC services than men from households where the men’s earnings were the only source of income. Challenges encountered by men during attendance at ANC services included: perception of antenatal clinics as places only for women, financial difficulties, influence of peer pressure and lack of time due to occupational demands. There is a need to establish community outreach ANC services that offer couple-friendly services in Tanzania. Also, it is crucial to have a policy for men’s involvement in maternal health care that addresses cultural practices that hinder men’s involvement in ANC services.

Keywords

Men’s view on ANCMen’s attendance at ANCMen’s knowledge on ANC
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 53 , Issue 6 , November 2021 , pp. 805 - 818
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aborigo, RA, Reidpath, DD, Oduro, AR and Allotey, P (2018) Male involvement in maternal health: perspectives of opinion leaders. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 18(1), 1–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Andersen, R and Newman, JF (1973) Societal and individual determinants of medical care utilization in the United States. Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly. Health and Society 51(1), 95–124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
August, F, Pembe, AB, Mpembeni, R, Axemo, P and Darj, E (2015) Men’s knowledge of obstetric danger signs, birth preparedness and complication readiness in rural Tanzania. PloS One, 10(5), e0125978.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
August, F, Pembe, AB, Mpembeni, R, Axemo, P and Darj, E (2016) Community health workers can improve male involvement in maternal health: evidence from rural Tanzania. Global Health Action 9(1), 30064.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bougangue, B and Ling, HK (2017) Male involvement in maternal healthcare through community-based health planning and services: the views of the men in rural Ghana. BMC Public Health 17, 693.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bustamante-Forest, R and Giarratano, G (2004) Changing men’s involvement in reproductive health and family planning. Nursing Clinics of North America 39(2), 301–318.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clouse, K, Schwartz, S, Van Rie, A, Bassett, J, Yende, N and Pettifor, A (2014) “What they wanted was to give birth; nothing else”: barriers to retention in option B+ HIV care among postpartum women in South Africa. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 67(1), e12–e18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Craymah, JP, Oppong, RK and Tuoyire, DA (2017) Male involvement in maternal health care at Anomabo, Central Region, Ghana. International Journal of Reproductive Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/2929013 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ditekemena, J, Koole, O, Engmann, C, Matendo, R, Tshefu, A, Ryder, R, and Colebunders, R (2012) Determinants of male involvement in maternal and child health services in sub Saharan Africa: a review. Reproductive Health 9(1), 1–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ditekemena, J, Matendo, R, Koole, O, Colebunders, R, Kashamuka, M, Tshefu, A et al. (2011) Male partner voluntary counselling and testing associated with the antenatal services in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo: a randomized controlled trial. International Journal of STD & AIDS 22(3), 165–170.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Doyle, K and Kato-Wallace, J (2013) Male engagement in maternal, newborn, and child health/sexual reproductive health and rights: a global fatherhood campaign. MenCare. URL: https://men-care.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/12/Male-Engagement-in-MNCH-SRHR-Guide-Web.pdf (accessed 18th March, 2020).Google Scholar
Falade-Fatila, O and Adebayo, A M (2020) Male partners’ involvement in pregnancy related care among married men in Ibadan, Nigeria. Reproductive Health 17(1), 14.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibore, NS, Bali, TA and Kibusi, SM (2019a) Factors influencing men’s involvement in antenatal care services: a cross-sectional study in a low resource setting, Central Tanzania. Reproductive Health 16(1), 52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibore, NS and Bali, TAL (2020) Community perspectives: an exploration of potential barriers to men’s involvement in maternity care in a central Tanzanian community. PLoS One 15(5), e0232939.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibore, NS, Ezekiel, MJ, Meremo, A, Munyogwa, MJ and Kibusi, SM (2019b) Determinants of men’s involvement in maternity care in Dodoma Region, Central Tanzania. Journal of Pregnancy, 7637124 Google Scholar
Jungari, S and Paswan, B (2019) What he knows about her and how it affects her? Husband’s knowledge of pregnancy complications and maternal health care utilization among tribal population in Maharashtra, India. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 19(1), 70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaye, DK, Kakaire, O, Nakimuli, A, Osinde, MO, Mbalinda, SN and Kakande, N (2014) Male involvement during pregnancy and childbirth: men’s perceptions, practices and experiences during the care for women who developed childbirth complications in Mulago Hospital, Uganda. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 14(1), 54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kinanee, JB and Ezekiel-Hart, J (2009) Men as partners in maternal health: implications for reproductive health counselling in Rivers State, Nigeria. International Journal of Psychology and Counselling 1(3), 39–44.Google Scholar
Kish, L (1965) Survey Sampling. John Willey and Sons Inc, NY.Google Scholar
Kululanga, LI, Sundby, J and Chirwa, E (2011) Striving to promote male involvement in maternal health care in rural and urban settings in Malawi – a qualitative study. Reproductive Health 8(1), 36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kwambai, TK, Dellicour, S, Desai, M, Ameh, CA, Person, B, Achieng, F et al. (2013) Perspectives of men on antenatal and delivery care service utilisation in rural western Kenya: a qualitative study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 13(1), 134.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maluka, SO and Peneza, AK (2018) Perceptions on male involvement in pregnancy and childbirth in Masasi District, Tanzania: a qualitative study. Reproductive Health 15(1), 68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mbekenga, CK, Pembe, AB, Darj, E, Christensson, K and Olsson, P (2013) Prolonged sexual abstinence after childbirth: gendered norms and perceived family health risks. Focus group discussions in a Tanzanian suburb. BMC International Health and Human Rights 13(1), 4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MoHCDGEC (2015) National Road Map Strategic Plan to Improve Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health in Tanzania 2016–2020: One Plan II. Ministry Health and Social Welfare, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. URL: https://www.globalfinancingfacility.org/sites/gff_new/files/Tanzania_One_Plan_II.pdf (accessed 14th November 2019).Google Scholar
Morrell, R and Jewkes, R (2011) Carework and caring: a path to gender equitable practices among men in South Africa? International Journal for Equity in Health 10(1), 17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Msuya, SE, Mbizvo, EM, Hussain, A, Uriyo, J, Sam, NE and Stray-Pedersen, B (2008) Low male partner participation in antenatal HIV counselling and testing in northern Tanzania: implications for preventive programs. AIDS Care 20(6), 700–709.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murthy, N, Ramachandar, L, Pelto, P and Vasan, A (2002) Dismantling India’s Contraceptive Target System: An Overview and Three Case Studies. Responding to Cairo: Case Studies of Changing Practice in Reproductive Health and Family Planning. Population Council, New York, pp. 25–57.Google Scholar
Nasreen, HE, Leppard, M, Al Mamun, M, Billah, M, Mistry, SK, Rahman, M and Nicholls, P (2012) Men’s knowledge and awareness of maternal, neonatal and child health care in rural Bangladesh: a comparative cross sectional study. Reproductive Health 9(1), 18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
National Bureau of Statistics (2013) The 2012 Population and Housing Census for the United Republic of Tanzania. URL: www.nbs.go.tz (accessed 13thJanuary 2020).Google Scholar
Nesane, K, Maputle, SM and Shilubane, H (2016) Male partners’ views of involvement in maternal healthcare services at Makhado Municipality clinics, Limpopo Province, South Africa. African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine 8(2), 1–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rahman, AE, Perkins, J, Islam, S, Siddique, AB, Moinuddin, M, Anwar, MR et al. (2018) Knowledge and involvement of husbands in maternal and newborn health in rural Bangladesh. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 18(1), 247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reuben, MG, Mbekenga, CK, Dennis, KA, Hurtig, AK and Goicolea, I (2017) Perceptions about the cultural practices of male partners during postpartum care in rural Tanzania: a qualitative study. Global Health Action 10(1), 1361184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Theuring, S, Jefferys, L F, Nchimbi, P, Mbezi, P and Sewangi, J (2016) Increasing partner attendance in antenatal care and HIV testing services: comparable outcomes using written versus verbal invitations in an urban facility-based controlled intervention trial in Mbeya, Tanzania. PLoS One 11(4), e0152734.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tweheyo, R, Konde-Lule, J, Tumwesigye, NM and Sekandi, JN (2010) Male partner attendance of skilled antenatal care in peri-urban Gulu district, Northern Uganda. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 10(1), 53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vermeulen, E, Miltenburg, AS, Barras, J, Maselle, N, van Elteren, M and Van Roosmalen, J (2016) Opportunities for male involvement during pregnancy in Magu district, rural Tanzania. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 16(1), 66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
WHO (2012) Male Involvement in the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV. URL: https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/rtis/9789241503679/en/ (accessed 10th July 2019).Google Scholar
Yargawa, J and Leonardi-Bee, J (2015) Male involvement and maternal health outcomes: systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 69(6), 604–612 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yende, N, Van Rie, A, West, NS, Bassett, J and Schwartz, SR (2017) Acceptability and preferences among men and women for male involvement in antenatal care. Journal of Pregnancy 2017, 4758017. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/4758017.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed