Gender Norms, Attitudes and Perceptions towards Male Involvement in Maternal Health in Kafue District, Lusaka
Journal Title: International Journal of Current Science Research and Review - Year 2024, Vol 7, Issue 10
Abstract
Male involvement in maternal health remains a major issue despite efforts by the international community. Despite the many benefits of male involvement in antenatal care there has been an observed low participation. Community gender norms, attitudes and perceptions towards male involvement in maternal health may affect the utilization of services offered by health facilities. The gap observed in many studies is that the attitude and perception of men regarding maternal health have largely been neglected. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the gender norms, attitudes and perceptions towards male involvement in maternal health in Kafue district of Zambia. The study adopted a descriptive research design. Both quantitative and qualitative paradigms were utilized in this study. A sample of 150 participants was used. Data was collected by the help of questionnaire and in-depth interviews. Results showed that respondents from Kafue were knowledgeable on antenatal care. Additionally, it was also revealed that respondents had a positive attitude towards male involvement in maternal health. However, due to gender norms their roles were limited when it came to delivery and child care. Nevertheless, the findings showed that men were involved in supporting their wives and helping out with house chores and providing money for antenatal care, skilled birth at a hospital, postnatal care, childcare and any necessities required for delivery. Men who were married were more likely to be involved in maternal health than men who were not married. The study also revealed that men were not comfortable with discussing their wives’ pregnancy with a health care provider due to lack of privacy. Findings suggested that there were many factors affecting male involvement in maternal health. Lack of messages and programs targeting men, health stuff attitude during delivery, gender norms such as men not being allowed to attend to women when in labor and hospital infrastructure were identified by the respondents as a cause to low male involvement. In this study, it was also revealed that men and women had a positive perception towards pregnancy being a shared responsibility, men supporting and caring for their wives during and after delivery. However, both men and women had a negative perception towards men’s presence in the delivery ward.
Authors and Affiliations
Mwansa Mwenya, Roy Kalinda, Kusanthan Thankian, Sidney O C Mwaba,
Impact of Sharia Inclusion and Financial Ratios on Stock Price: An Analysis of Companies Listed in the SRI-Kehati Index (2014-2023)
This study aims to analyze the impact of Sharia inclusion and financial ratios on the stock performance of companies listed in the SRI-Kehati Index during the period 2014-2019. The SRI-Kehati Index reflects companies com...
Experiences of Burnout among Staff Nurses of Private Hospitals in Surigao City
This descriptive quantitative study is primarily concerned with the level of burnout among nurses working in private hospitals in Surigao City. The following research tools were used in the actual collection of data whic...
Design and Development of Overcurrent Protection Relay Inverse Definite Minimum Time Type Based on Arduino Uno
An overcurrent protection relay is an essential component in electrical system to protect devices from damage due to excessive current. The Inverse Definite Minimum Time (IDMT) type has a trip time that depends on the ma...
Nutrient Content of Pig Feed Based Local Feed Mixed with Liquid Fermentation Products from Moringa and Azadirachta indica Leaf Extracts
This research aims to determine the nutritional content of rations based on local feed mixed with liquid Moringa leaf extract and fermented Azadirachta indica as pig feed. The research materials used were Moringa leaves...
Feasibility Study for Investment as Agent (Case Study: PT. Tirta Chemoil)
After the financial sector underwent a dramatic transformation in 2020, primarily brought on by the COVID-19 Pandemic, certain areas of the market have recovered while others are still struggling to recover from the fina...