Factors Associated with Male Participation in Maternal Health Services in Sub- Urban Uganda

Introduction: In spite of this fact efforts to improve reproductive health in Uganda and elsewhere in the world have mainly targeted women. Since 1994 there has been an effort to increase the role of men in this area. This has... [ view full abstract ]

Introduction: In spite of this fact efforts to improve reproductive health in Uganda and elsewhere in the world have mainly targeted women. Since 1994 there has been an effort to increase the role of men in this area. This has been mostly done through inclusion of men in family planning. There continues to be lack of emphasis on involvement of men in maternal health care and yet they remain to be crucial patterns in this. (Obi, Abe, Okojie, 2013). In 2011 UDHS,women were asked about the factors that were a problem in seeking medical care and they include getting permission to go for treatment, getting money for treatment, distance to a health facility and not wanting to go alone.
Objectives: To determine the socio-demographic factors associated with the participation of men in maternal health care; To determine the proportion of men that has participated in ANC, or escorted their wives for delivery; To determine the relationship between knowledge about maternal health and participation of men in the activities involved in maternal health;To determine the relationship between male involvement in maternal health and utilization of skilled birth attendants.
Methods: We used a cross sectional survey, and purposefully sampled men who who attended clinics in a sub- urban setting. We used an interviewer assisted questionnaires to collect data on the socio-economic and demographic characteristics men and their involvement in maternal health services and performed a logistic regression.
Results: The socio economic and demographic factors associated with male involvement in maternal health were age and marital status. Almost all the respondents were aware of ANC that is they had heard about it.68% believed that taking care of a pregnant woman is what is entailed in ANC. 43.62% believed that financial support as the role of a man. Most of the males who had knowledge about maternal health or had heard about it were more likely to participate in ANC activities. 50% of the respondents had participated in ANC activities, 62.35% had taken their wives to deliver and 70% of the respondents had taken their wives to the hospital thus a good attitude towards maternal health activities although some men just escort their wives because its compulsory (that is it’s a requirement by most health centers for a pregnant woman to go with the husband).There was no relationship between male involvement in maternal health activities and utilisation of skilled birth attendants at delivery.