| dc.description.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 | en |
