Determinants of Male Involvement in Antenatal Care in the Bawku Municipality, Upper East Region Ghana

Abstract

In our efforts to decrease maternal mortality and promote maternal health, male involvement has been identified as one of the factors that play a major role in places where the supremacy of decision-making in the family repose in the hands of men. Areas where male involvement in maternal health care is encouraged has observed an improvement such as family planning and exclusive breastfeeding. Maternal mortality in Ghana is still high and that led to the failure in the achievement of her millennium development goal five (5). One of the strategies that can be adopted to enhance the reduction of maternal mortality and to improve maternal health is male involvement in ANC. The study investigated the determinants of male involvement in ANC in the Bawku Municipality in the Upper East Region of Ghana using the theory of planned behaviour as a framework. A descriptive cross sectional quantitative study design was employed and data were gathered from four hundred and thirty nine (439) men who attended antenatal care clinic with their wives in four hospitals in the Bawku Municipality of Ghana. However, thirteen respondents were excluded in the data analysis due to missing data. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 software was used in the data analysis. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics such as Pearson r, Spearman Rho correlation analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis were the techniques employed in the data analysis. Finding indicates that the men in the study had good attitudes towards male involvement in antenatal care with a total mean (131.29, SD = 46.24), they had control over preforming antenatal care (95.34, SD = 37.47) and good intentions to involve in antenatal care (9.71, SD = 4.55). However, the men are influenced by the people they deemed important to them (low Determinants of Male Involvement in Antenatal Care