| dc.description.abstract | Introduction: Antenatal care is one of the key health programmes that promote maternal and
child health in Uganda. However, low male involvement in ANC has persisted and poses a
challenge to health care provision and policy implementation despite their mobilization by male
champions. Male champions in this study refer to men who were trained as social mobilisers of
fellow men to embrace antenatal care. This study was conducted to examine the determinants of
male involvement in early ANC attendance in the face of male champions in Mparo HCIV,
Rukiga District.
Methods: A cross-sectional study design was adopted using a mixed-methods approach. Data
was collected from 141 respondents comprising of male partners, healthcare workers, and male
champions using questionnaires, interviews, and focus group discussions. Quantitative data were
analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) and the following were
performed; descriptive statistics, Pearson chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression. On the
other hand, qualitative data was analysed using thematic and content analysis techniques.
Results: The study findings revealed that male champions were very key in increasing male
involvement in early ANC attendance in the Mparo sub-county. It was revealed that male partner
who had a perception that a pregnant woman should attend her first ANC visit in the 4-5 months
of pregnancy was 1.168 times more likely to be involved in early ANC attendance than their
counterparts with a perception that a pregnant woman should attend her first ANC visit from the
8
th month of pregnancy. Also, male partners who had ever tested for HIV/AIDS had higher odds
of being involved in early ANC attendance (AOR=2.362) than their counterparts who had never
tested for HIV/AIDS. Lastly, male partners who waited for 30-45 minutes at a health facility
were 10.807 times more likely to be involved in early ANC attendance than those that waited for
1 hour or more at a health facility. The qualitative findings further indicated that male champions
encouraged male partners at homes, churches, health facilities, and bars to accompany their
spouses for early ANC. However, they faced several challenges including cultural beliefs that
hindered male involvement in early ANC high transport costs to the health facilities, and
demotivation because of lack of incentives.
Conclusion: the study findings revealed that male champions, individual factors, and health
facility factors had a significant association with male involvement in early ANC attendance in
Mparo HCIV in Rukiga District. To this end, therefore, the study recommended; Ministry of
health to increase the number of staff allocated to the ANC clinic at Mparo HCIV, expansion of
voluntary HIV/AIDS counselling and testing for male partners, and facilitation of male
champions in mobilizing male partners for early ANC attendance especially transportation
means and allowances. | en_US |
