Inclusion of men in maternal and safe motherhood services in inner-city communities in Ghana: evidence from a descriptive cross-sectional survey

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

Research Article

Nana Frema Atuahene¹  Margaret Duah Atuahene²  John Kuumuori Ganle²  Martin Adjuik³  Sylvia Arde-Acquah⁴ 

[1] Augusta Medical Centre, Waynesboro, Virginia, USA;Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 13, Legon, Accra, Ghana;INDEPTH Network Secretariat, Accra, Ghana;School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana;

关键词: Men inclusion;    Maternal health services;    Safe motherhood;    Family planning;    Spousal communication;    Survey;    Inner-city communities;    Ghana;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12884-017-1590-3

 received in 2016-07-20, accepted in 2017-11-22,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThere has been a growing realisation of the need to enhance men’s inclusion in maternal and safe motherhood services, especially in low-income settings. However, empirical studies on the extent to which men are involved in maternal and safe motherhood services especially in poor inner-city communities are lacking. The purpose of this study was to describe the level of men’s inclusion in maternal and safe-motherhood services in inner-city communities in Ghana, and to assess the barriers of men’s involvement.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted among a total of 256 randomly selected adult men in Chorkor, an inner-city fishing community in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. A multistage sampling strategy was used to select houses, households and respondents. Descriptive statistical techniques were used to analyse the data. Data analysis was done with the aid of SPSS version 20.ResultsAlthough almost all (96.6%) respondents knew the meaning of family planning, as high as 236(92.2%) have never accompanied their wives/partners to clinics to seek family planning services. Also 242(94.5%) and 251(98%) of men, respectively, knew the importance of antenatal services and supervised delivery. However, only 114(44.5%) of men ever accompanied their wives/partners to seek skilled delivery services. Men’s involvement was hindered by barriers such as attitude of health workers, long waiting time and socio-cultural beliefs.ConclusionThe study revealed a gap between men’s awareness of the importance of maternal and safe motherhood services and their actual involvement in accessing these services with their female partners. There is a need to create a supportive environment that encourages men to be involved in maternal health services to help reduce maternal/neonatal morbidity and mortality.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017