Women’s preferences, expectations, and experiences with male partner support throughout prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV services: a mixed-methods study

ABSTRACT

Male involvement in prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) care improves maternal and child outcomes. We conducted a mixed-methods study at two Kenyan government hospitals. We quantitatively assessed women’s expectations and preferences for male partner involvement in PMTCT and male partner attendance at PMTCT appointments. Qualitative interviews with women during the postpartum period assessed types of support women received from their male partners. At enrollment, most participants wanted (75%) and expected (69%) male partners to attend appointments; yet, only 9% had a male partner attend any appointments. Most women agreed that their partner would: support them financially (81%), help follow doctor’s guidance (61%), support a hospital-based delivery (85%), and want to receive text messages (68%). Expectations and preferences varied by women’s characteristics, most notably experiences with mistreatment, disclosure status, and knowledge of male partner’s HIV status. In qualitative interviews, instrumental (financial) support was the most frequently discussed type of support. Male partners also provided informational support by reminding women of medication or appointments. Women reported a variety of ways in which their male partners supported them through PMTCT; however, there was a gap between women’s expectation for male partner attendance and the level of male attendance achieved.

KEYWORDS:

• Prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT)
• male partner involvement
• Kenya
• antenatal care

Acknowledgements

All authors’ effort on this project was supported by grant R34MH107337 from the National Institute of Mental Health and the University of Kansas School of Medicine Bridging Grant. The National institutes of Mental Health played no role in the design of the study, data collection, the writing of the manuscript, or the decision to submit for publication. We would like to thank the participants of this study and healthcare providers at the study hospitals. We acknowledge the members of the Kenya HITSystem Study Team: Emmy Kavaya, Philomena Chepchirchir, and Hellen Murei. We also acknowledge the critical role of our government partners at the Kenya National AIDS and STI Control Program (NASCOP). We thank the Director, KEMRI for permission to publish this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Institute of Mental Health: [grant number R34MH107337]; School of Medicine, University of Kansas [grant number Bridging Grant].