Men’s Response to Obulamu Campaign Messages about Male Involvement in Maternal Health: Mukono District, Uganda

ABSTRACT

Men’s involvement makes a difference in maternal health. Well-informed and supportive men may encourage their wives to get more complete and regular antenatal care. In much of sub-Saharan Africa, however, men’s involvement with their wives’ health during pregnancy is minimal. This study investigated men’s response to Obulamu: How’s Your Pregnancy radio campaign messages about attending antenatal care with their wives, delivering at a health facility, being tested for HIV, maintaining maternal nutrition, and using malaria prevention. We conducted eight focus group discussions ranging from six to ten participants each: two groups of men from a rural area, two groups of men from a peri-urban area, and two groups each of expectant or recent mothers from the same rural and peri-urban areas. We also conducted six key informant interviews of midwives and other healthcare providers. Findings revealed that participants were highly exposed to the Obulamu campaign and knowledgeable about campaign messages. Most men expressed positive attitudes toward behaviors promoted by the campaign and voiced an intention to change their behaviors. Key informant interviews confirmed that since the start of the campaign an increase in male involvement with maternity visits had taken place. However, a sizeable minority of men, mostly rural residents, resisted involvement in their wives’ antenatal visits because of poverty, gender and cultural stereotypes, fear of HIV testing, and incongruity between messages and the realities of antenatal clinical practice. An interaction between individual and institutional-level factors as posited by the social ecological model was clearly evident; there was an incongruity between encouraging Obulamu messages about men’s involvement and the discouraging realities of antenatal clinical practice.