An assessment of health facility factors influencing male participation in utilization of antenatal care services among spouses in selected manufacturing industries in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Background: Male participation in utilization of reproductive health is likely to promote timely and proper antenatal care, encourage women to deliver under the care of a skilled attendant, and also help identify and seek heath care in cases of post-partum complications. However, in most African societies, pregnancy, delivery and postnatal services has been erroneously classified as purely feminine issue by the society.Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study design was adopted for the study. The target population of the study comprised of males above 18 years working in selected manufacturing industries in the area of Babadogo located in Nairobi County, Kenya. The sample size for the study was 266 respondents. Structured questionnaires were used for data collection. Data collected was quantitatively analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).Results: 56.0% (145) of the respondents had accompanied their partner to antenatal care facilities; 34.0% (88) of the respondents had ever participated in ANC services. Chi-square test statistics showed that distance to the nearest health facility (χ2=7.472 df=3, p=0.024), cost of accessing ANC services (χ2=26.253 df=4, p=0.001), attitude of healthcare providers (χ2=31.705 df=3, p=0.001) and friendliness of the waiting bay (χ2=9.718 df=2, p=0.008) significantly influenced male participation in antenatal care services’ utilization among spouses.Conclusions: Despite majority of men accompanying their wives to antenatal care facilities, most of them did not participate in the antenatal care services. Another conclusion is that facility factors such as distance, cost, health care providers’ attitude, and waiting bay friendliness influence male participation in utilization of antenatal care services.