Male involvement in sexual and reproductive health in the Mendi district, Southern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea: a descriptive study

Reproductive Health

Paul Crouch-Chivers¹  John Vince¹  Sally Kura¹ 

[1] School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Papua New Guinea, PO Box 5255, Boroko, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

关键词: Sexual behaviour;    Wives’ reproductive health;    Male involvement;    Knowledge;    Married men;   

Others  :  811260
DOI  :  10.1186/1742-4755-10-46

 received in 2013-07-09, accepted in 2013-09-06,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

Lack of male involvement and support for sexual and reproductive health services is seen by many Papua New Guinean women as a barrier to accessing services. Poor utilization of services by both men and women is reflected in high maternal mortality and high rates of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections in the Southern Highlands Province. It is therefore important to understand the type of services provided, men’s perceptions of these services and the Health Sector’s capacity to involve men in its programs.

Methods

Information from interviews of married men, officers in charge of health facilities, and information from a focus group discussion with village leaders was collected to assess possible constraints to reproductive and sexual health care delivery.

Results

Although many men had heard about antenatal care, supervised births, family planning and sexually transmitted infections including, HIV/AIDS, many were unaware of their importance and of the types of services provided to address these issues. There was a very strong association between men’s literacy and their knowledge of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) issues, their discussion of these issues with their wives and their wives’ utilisation of sexual and reproductive health services. Some men considered SRH services to be important but gave priority to social obligations. Although men made most decisions for sexual and reproductive issues, pregnancy, child birth and rearing of children were regarded as women’s responsibilities. Knowledge of HIV/AIDS appeared to have changed sexual behaviour in some men. Services for men in this rural setting were inadequate and service providers lacked the capacity to involve men in reproductive health issues.

Conclusion

Poor knowledge, socio-cultural factors and inadequate and inappropriate services for men hampered utilization of services and impaired support for their wives’ service utilization. Programmatic and policy initiatives should focus on improving service delivery to accommodate men in sexual and reproductive health.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Kura et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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