Assessment of Factors that affect male partner involvement in emergency obstetric care in Fortportal Regional referral hospital
Authors:   Department of Medicine, Kampala International University, Uganda., Mutuku Norah, Ngami 
Published: April 2023

Male partner involvement has been recognized as a key factor in improving maternal health and reducing maternal mortality in settings where men play key roles in decision making in the household. Male partner involvement is one of the strategies that can be used to accelerate the decline in maternal mortality and improve maternal health. The objective of this study was to determine the level of male partner involvement in emergency obstetric care and/or came from home in labour and identify factors that influenced their involvement. A crosssectional survey using interviewer-administered structured questionnaire was conducted among 150 women aged 18 years. Male involvement was measured using a composite measure of 5 key points. Pearson Chi-Square was used to test association between the various factors and the level of male involvement and logistic regression analysis was carried out to determine the influence of these factors on the level of male involvement. The mean age of participants was 32.9 years (SD=8.2). Overall, 26.4% had high level of involvement, 55.2% had moderate level of involvement and 18.4% had low level of involvement. The period with the highest proportion of high male involvement was during labour and delivery. Younger age (18- 25years vs. 26-35years: OR=0.28, 95%CI: 0.12, 0.66) and the couple living with other family members negatively impacted on the level of male involvement. On the other hand, higher level of education (Tertiary: OR=40.57, 95%CI- 3.16, 520.32; Senior Secondary: OR=7.73, 95% CI- 1.61, 37.15) and the couple living together (OR= 13.12, 95%CI 6.86, 25.08) had a positive influence on the level of male involvement. Healthcare institution barriers to male partner involvement included poor staff attitudes, restrictions on male access to labour and delivery rooms and unwelcoming health facility environment. Male involvement in emergency obstetric care and/or came from home in labour was not optimal. Improving male-friendliness of health facilities in terms of infrastructure, organization of services and staff attitudes and education of the community especially men to sensitize them against the negative attitudes towards male participation in maternity care can improve male involvement. The Hospital Management Team in collaboration with the community leaders should organize educational campaigns within the communities to educate community members especially the men, on the importance and benefits of male involvement in maternal health care. Such campaigns can also address negative sociocultural norms and attitudes. The hospital should restructure the maternal health clinics to make them more male friendly. Adequate space and privacy must be provided. Given the sociocultural diversity in the country, more research should be encouraged in this important area to enable the design of culturally appropriate and sensitive male friendly services throughout the country. Keywords: Maternal mortality, male partner, emergency, obstetric care and Fortportal Hospital