Strategies to improve male involvement in PMTCT Option B+ in four African countries: a qualitative rapid appraisal

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization recommends that antiretroviral therapy be started as soon as possible, irrespective of stage of HIV infection. This ‘test and treat’ approach highlights the need to ensure that men are involved in prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT). This article presents findings from a rapid appraisal of strategies to increase male partner involvement in PMTCT services in Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, and Coˆ te d’Ivoire in the context of scale-up of Option B protocol. DESIGN: Data were collected through qualitative rapid appraisal using focus groups and individual interviews during field visits to the four countries. Interviews were conducted in the capital city with Ministry of Health staff and implementing partners (IPs) and at district level with district management teams, facility-based health workers and community health cadres in each country. RESULTS: Common strategies were adopted across the countries to effect social change and engender greater participation of men in maternal, child and women’s health, and PMTCT services. Community-based strategies included engagement of community leaders through dialogue and social mobilization, involving community health workers and the creation and strengthening of male peer cadres. Facility-based strategies included provision of incentives such as shorter waiting time, facilitating access for men by altering clinic hours, and creation of family support groups. CONCLUSIONS: The approaches implemented at both community and facility levels were tailored to the local context, taking into account cultural norms and geographic regional variations. Although intentions behind such strategies aim to have positive impacts on families, unintended negative consequences do occur, and these need to be addressed and strategies adapted. A consistent definition of ‘male involvement’ in PMTCT services and a framework of indicators would be helpful to capture the impact of strategies on cultural and behavioral shifts. National policies around male involvement would be beneficial to streamline approaches across IPs and ensure wide-scale implementation, to achieve significant improvements in family health outcomes.IS

Is Male Involvement in ANC and PMTCT Associated with Increased Facility-Based Obstetric Delivery in Pregnant Women?

Ensuring that pregnant women are delivering in a health facility and are attended to by skilled birth attendants is critical to reducing maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. This study sought to determine the associations between male involvement in antenatal care (ANC) services and pregnant women delivering at health facilities and being attended to by skilled birth attendants as well as attending postnatal care. This was a retrospective cohort study using secondary analysis of program data. We reviewed health records of all pregnant women who attended antenatal services irrespective of HIV status between March and December 2012 in 10 health facilities in three provinces of Zambia. An extraction questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic and clinical information from registers used in services for maternal neonatal child health as well as delivery. Using logistic regression, we calculated the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of the association between (1) male involvement and delivery at a health facility by a skilled birth attendant and (2) male involvement and women’s attendance at postnatal services. We found that more women who had been accompanied by their male partner during ANC delivered at a health facility than those who had not been accompanied (88/220=40% vs. 543/1787=30.4%, respectively; OR 1.53, 95% CI: 1.15-2.04). Also, we noted that a greater proportion of the women who returned for postnatal visits had been accompanied by their partner at ANC visits, compared to those women who came to ANC without their partner (106/220=48.2% vs. 661/1787=37.0%, respectively; OR 1.58, 95% CI: 1.20-2.10). Male involvement seems to be a key factor in women's health-seeking behaviours and could have a positive impact on maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. Keywords: antenatal care, HIV, males, facility delivery, postnatal care, Zambia.RésuméS’assurer que les femmes enceintes accouchent dans un établissement de santé et qu’elles sont prises en charge par des accoucheuses qualifiées est essentiel pour réduire la morbidité et la mortalité maternelle et infantile. Cette étude visait à déterminer les associations entre la participation des hommes aux services de soins prénatals (SPrN) et des femmes enceintes qui accouchent dans des établissements de santé et d'être assistées par des accoucheuses qualifiées ainsi que la participation dans des soins postnatals (SPN). Il s’agissait d’une étude de cohorte rétrospective effectué à l’aide d’une analyse secondaire des données du programme. Nous avons examiné les dossiers de santé de toutes les femmes enceintes qui ont assisté à des services de soins prénatals indépendamment de leur statut du VIH entre mars et décembre 2012 dans 10 établissements de santé dans trois provinces de la Zambie. Un questionnaire d'extraction a été utilisé pour recueillir des informations socio-démographiques et cliniques à partir des registres utilisés dans les services de santé maternelle de l'enfant nouveau-né ainsi que l’accouchement. A l’aide de la régression logistique, nous avons calculé les odds ratios (OR) et 95% d’intervalles de confiance (IC) de l'association entre (1) la participation des hommes et de l’accouchement dans un établissement de santé par une accoucheuse qualifiée et (2) la participation des hommes et la présence des femmes aux services postnatals. Nous avons constaté que plus de femmes qui avaient été accompagnées de leurs partenaires masculins pendant SPrN ont accouché dans un établissement de santé que celles qui n’avaient pas été accompagnées (88/220 = 40% contre 543/1787 = 30,4%, respectivement; OR 1,53, 95% CI: 01/15 à 02/04). En outre, nous avons constaté qu'une plus grande proportion des femmes qui sont revenues pour des visites postnatales avaient été accompagnées par leurs partenaires lors des visites prénatales, par rapport à ces femmes-là qui venaient pour les SPrN sans leurs partenaires (106/220 = 48,2% contre 661/1787 = 37,0%, respectivement; OR 1,58, IC à 95%: 1.20 à 2.10). La participation des hommes semble être un facteur clé dans la recherche de comportement de santé des femmes et pourrait avoir un impact positif sur la morbidité et la mortalité maternelle et infantile. Mots-clés: soins prénatals, le VIH, les hommes, la prestation de service, les soins postnatals, Zambie