Factors Associated With Low Male Involvement In Maternal Child Health Service Utilization In Iganga Municipal Council

ABSTRACT

Male involvement is necessary for the increase in the utilization of maternal child health services

by the mothers and the pregnant women. The aim of the study was to establish the factors

associated with low male involvement in maternal and child health services in Iganga

municipality. It also was aimed aimed at establishing whether economic, socio-cultural factors,

lack of knowledge and the level of male involvement in Iganga municipality are responsible for

low male involvement in maternal child health services.

It was descriptive cross sectional study carried out in Iganga municipality in Iganga district and it

involved 115 males ever married participants and they were selected using the simple random

sampling method.

Cultural factors and traditional belief emerged as factor leading to low male involvement since

most of the respondents agreed

Lack of knowledge and adequate information about maternal child health services by the male

was a major contributing to low male involvement in the municipality.

Being very busy at work, long line of mothers waiting for MCH services, lack of knowledge on

whether the men are supposed to be in hospital with their spouses, unemployment or low income

of the family and male superiority where all viewed by the men as the factors leading to low

male involvement.

Escorting the wives to the hospital and providing essential support were viewed as the main

ways of male involvement and it was high above the national level which was good.

The municipality together with the ministry of health should raise awareness by an intensive community mobilization and sensitization about the responsibility of men in maternal child health services.

Also we need to encourage all families to have income generating projects such that they may have stable incomes to facilitate the man and the woman to attend MCH services together.