Determinants Of Male Involvement In The Utilization Of Maternal And Child Health Services In Lamu County

Abstract

Male involvement has been blamed for the poor utilization of health care services across the globe. This study sought to establish the determinants of male involvement that influence the utilization of maternal and child health services in Lamu county. It was guided by five objectives: To establish the social cultural factors that influence utilization of maternal and child health services, to assess the economic factors that influence male involvement in the utilization of maternal and child health services, to assess the demographic factors that influence male involvement in the utilization of maternal and child health services, to establish how the attitudes of health workers affects male involvement in the utilization of maternal and child health services and to examine the opinions of community members as regards to male involvement in the utilization of maternal and child health services in Lamu county. The research employed a qualitative descriptive design. Data was collected in June 2013 through use of focused group discussions, key informant interviews and in depth interviews .Multi- stage sampling was used to sample the health facilities with a complete list of all health facilities as the first level and a list of the 10 busiest facilities as the second level. Purposive sampl i ng technique was used to select 4 health facilities with the hi ghes t MCH vi s i t s in the county, the community leaders and to select the health workers for the study. Typical case sampling was used in selection of men accompanying their women to the MCH clinics. Homogeneous sampling was used in selection of men and women for the focus group discussions from the health facility catchment area.Tape recorded interviews were first transcribed verbatim before content analysis was undertaken. The study established that the community perceptions and the strong cultural and gender norms, coupled with financial constraints play a key role in men that prevent them and their families from utilizing the MCH services offered in the health facilities. In addition, health worker behavior and the long waiting time in health facilities bars men from such facilities. The study further found out that religion, age, level of education and profession of the men play a key role in determining their involvement in the utilization of MCH services in Lamu county.The study recommends that policy makers and stakeholders in general should strive to mainstream male involvement in MCH programming and move away from the traditional approaches of MCH which placed the man at the periphery of reproductive health programmes. This should be supported with stronger policies in place which will be implemented at all levels of health care, from the community to the higher levels of care for them to succeed