Institutional Determinants of Male Partner Involvement in Antenatal Care at Anti-Stock Theft Unit, Kenya

• Published in: International journal of caring sciences 2021-05, Vol.14 (2), p.862-869
• Main Authors: Lucy, Wanjiku, Albunas, Kyalo, Dainah, Kariuki Wanja
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Confidentiality; Descriptive research; Developing countries; Female employees; Gender; Hypotheses; LDCs; Maternal & child health; Participation; Pregnancy; Prenatal care; Womens health
• ISSN: 1791-5201; 1792-037X

Background: Male partner involvement in antenatal care is a crucial component in the optimization of maternal health. Uptake is low in developing countries since few men engage in care. Non-involvement is a global concern identified by researchers and needs addressing. Objective: To identify institutional determinants of male partner involvement in antenatal care (ANC) at AntiStockTheftUnit in Gilgil ward of Nakuru County. Design was Cross-sectional descriptive research design. Subjects were 334 sampled from a population of 2582 through simple random sampling. Data was gathered using self- administered questionnaires, and then edited, coded, and organized with help of statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) Microsoft excel computer.It was then analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Chi square and Fishers exact tests were performed to test the hypothesis. The information was presented using tables and percentages. Results showed (91.0%) of the respondents indicated facilities are dominated by female workers.Of ( 88.9%) of the participants who accompanied the partners during first ANC visit indicated that they were comfortable with female health personnel while,( 90.9%) who did not accompany the partners indicated that they were not comfortable with female health workers ( p=.0.036). Slightly less than half (44.6 %) of the subjects opined that health workers had wanting reactions.90% of the participants who accompanied the partners during the first ANC visit indicated that health workers were good friendly and kind. However 85.7% of those who did not accompany the partners attributed it to health workers wanting responses p=(2-sided) 0.017). Conclusions: Gender and health care workers were significant to male partner involvement in antenatal care.