Peer-reviewed article
Prevalence of male partners involvement in antenatal care visits - in Kyela district, Mbeya.
Elizabeth Kabanga, Alfred Chibwae, Namanya Basinda, Domenica Morona ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how often male partners attend antenatal care visits with pregnant women in Kyela district, Tanzania. About 57% of pregnant women were accompanied by their male partners to antenatal care clinics. Male partners' awareness of scheduled visit dates was the strongest predictor of their attendance. The study identifies that fear of HIV testing and lack of male-friendly services are barriers to greater male involvement in antenatal care.
Key points
- 56.9% of pregnant women (99 out of 174) attended antenatal care with male partners
- 51% of male partners attended because the woman requested their presence
- Male partner awareness of ANC visit dates was significantly associated with attendance (OR 24.1, 95% CI 6.8-86.5, P<0.0001)
- Fear of HIV testing appeared to be a barrier reducing male attendance
- Tanzania's PMTCT program shows only 8% of couples attend HIV counseling together
Limitations
This is a hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted over two months in one district, so findings may not represent broader patterns across Tanzania or other regions. The study describes prevalence and associations but cannot establish causation or explain mechanisms driving the identified barriers.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In most countries in the world, promotion of maternal and child health is perceived as women's role and men do not feel that they are responsible and see no reason to accompany their partners to Antenatal Care (ANC) clinics [Vermeulen, E., et al., BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 16:66, 2016]. Male involvement in Reproductive, Maternal, Neonates and Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) programs in Tanzania is low. In Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) program, the data shows only 30% attend couple counseling and only 8% for HIV counseling with their partners. There is limited data on prevalence of male involvement in ANC visits in Kyela. The purpose of this study was to determine prevalence of male involvement in ANC services and assess factors influencing male partners' involvement in ANC visits in Kyela district in Mbeya. The findings from this study will serve as a baseline in efforts to increase male involvement in ANC care in Kyela. METHODS: Hospital based cross-sectional study was undertaken in Kyela district, Mbeya from October 2017 to November 2017. Data was collected using structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Factors with P values of < 0.05 in univariate logistic regression were included in a multivariable logistic regression model to determine predictor variables that are independently associated with the outcome. Significant difference was defined as a P- value less than 0.05 and Odds Ratio (OR) that did not include 1.0. RESULTS: About 174 pregnant women who were visiting the ANC in their second to fourth visits or higher. About, 56.9% (99) attended with their male partners and 51% (52) of these reported to be accompanied by male partners to ANC because the women had requested their partners to accompany them. Attendance of male partners to ANC was significantly associated with male partner awareness of ANC visiting dates OR 24.1, 95% CI 6.8, 86.5, and P < 0.0001. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of male attendance to the ANC in Kyela district is not adequate as fearing of HIV testing seemed to decrease male attendance to ANC services. So, there is high need to improve ANC health services with a focus on male friendly services.